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Tempe council amends sales-tax package, adds early-education funding and continues final ballot decision to May 14
Summary
After presentations from city staff, the council amended a proposed Nov. 3 ballot measure that would raise local sales taxes for public safety and transit to also dedicate 0.1% to expand Tempe Pre. Council approved adjustments to the percentages and agreed to continue final action to May 14 for additional public review.
Mayor Corey Woods and Deputy City Manager/Chief Financial Officer Lisette Camacho opened the May 1 discussion of a proposed local sales-tax package designed to close an estimated structural shortfall caused by recent state action and regional changes.
Camacho said the package originally proposed a 0.4% (0.004) local sales-tax dedicated to public safety and a 0.1% (0.001) increase for transit. She told the council the public-safety component was expected to generate about $40.3 million annually and the transit piece about $10.1 million, and that the funding would support additional staff, equipment, park rangers, crime-prevention-through-environmental-design projects and multimodal transit projects. "These are locally controlled dollars that can be reinvested directly into the city services and priorities," Camacho said during the staff presentation.
Interim Fire Chief Kyle Carmen and Assistant Chief Dane Sorensen described operational strain and response-time trends as context for the proposal. Carmen said Tempe is responding to nearly 25,000 incidents annually and noted inspection and staffing shortfalls that the city says the revenue would help address. Sorensen for the police department showed longer response times for lower-priority calls and argued the proposed revenue would enable hiring identified in the staffing study, improve detective workloads and stabilize the fleet and real-time operations center.
Public comment was sharply divided. Opponents urged the council to first exhaust internal cuts and efficiency measures rather than asking voters for new revenue. "This should be the last tool in the toolbox, not the first you pull out," said Joe Forte, a small-business owner and neighborhood-association leader. Supporters including the Downtown Tempe Authority, public-safety unions and transit advocates urged voters be given the choice, saying recent state revenue losses make additional local funding necessary to preserve service levels.
During deliberations, Councilmember Randy Keating proposed an amendment to allocate 0.1% of the public-safety portion for Tempe Pre, the city's early-childhood program, explaining the longer-term link between early-childhood investment and community stability. "I propose an amendment to allocate 0.1% of the proposed public-safety sales tax increase to expand and strengthen Tempe Pre," Keating said on the council floor. After discussion the council voted to revise the percentages to 0.3% for public safety, 0.1% for transit and 0.1% for Tempe Pre (a net shift from the original 0.4%/0.1% split).
Council then debated whether to consolidate the three items into a single ballot question. That motion passed 6–1, with Councilmember Amberg recorded as the lone no vote. Finally, to allow time for public review of the amended language and ballot materials, the council voted unanimously to continue final consideration and any ordinance adoption to the May 14 regular meeting.
What happens next: Staff will prepare revised ballot language and public outreach materials; the council will hold another public hearing and a final vote on May 14 if it proceeds. If the council ultimately places the measure on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot and voters approve it, the new rates would take effect Jan. 1 following required ordinance steps.
