We are welcoming local business owners, community volunteers, and Glendale Residents to have their say. We started this page when we saw what Joe Cerreta poseted in the local newspaper.
>Keep Glendale Alive – Vote no on Prop 457, yes on temporary sales tax increase
Glendale has long been a place people choose to call home. Businesses want to be here for our quality of life. Families want to be here, often for generations. But Proposition 457 aims to destroy the things that are at the heart of the community.
Do not be fooled – this proposition, which was put forth by mostly non-Glendale residents, doesn’t have anything to do with the Coyotes or the NHL. This proposition will slash the City of Glendale’s budget and the results will be devastating, the type of destruction that a city may not come back from.
If you own a home or business in Glendale, you may go from living in a city with some of the best amenities and quality of life in the Southwest to one with fewer firefighters and police officers. One without libraries (they may be forced to close), one with fewer parks, no children’s recreation, and one with a downtown that will no longer host enviable hometown events.
A vote for 457 is a vote against our way of life. You will be doing it for a group of non-Glendale citizens who couldn’t care less how this proposition affects us, but for the monies that they can make by opposing issues and decisions that our mayor and city council make on all of our behalf.
A few short years ago, not once, but twice, the citizens of Glendale voted on a pay raise, not just for our mayor, but also for our city council. That pay raise was and still is very warranted to my way of thinking. And to think that any special-interest group would undermine all of us who live and work in Glendale for a personal paycheck is absurd.
Glendale residents will not stand for that and are much more up to date and aware that we can always fire our mayor or city councilmembers, but Proposition 457 may be with us forever if it passes. The general sales tax increase is another issue that is very close to all of us here in Glendale and no one likes to pay more. However, like voting on a pay raise for our mayor and city council, there is a time and place for everything.
Glendale has held out for nearly 20 years since our last permanent general sales tax increase, and one of the last cities in the entire Valley to do so. So, let us all vote NO on Proposition 457 and let our mayor and city council members make good solid decisions and YES on a much needed general sales tax increase to give them the tools to get it done. Please vote Nov. 6. Joe Cerreta
>Glendale Won’t be ‘MY’ Glendale
This was a recent comment from one of my customers, a City of Glendale resident, as they sat in my shop last week. The topic of discussion was the potential repeal of Glendale’s sales tax increase and the proposed cuts that could happen. I am a property owner and a small business owner in the heart of Historic Glendale and I have the same concerns.
A letter to the editor is the right of every citizen to speak publically about their opinion. My letter will be different than some of the ones I have read over the past several weeks about this topic. Mine will not include any name-calling references, finger-pointing, and political comments about what has been done wrong in the past. That is their opinion. My letter is simply stating what I want for the future of our city.
I want my neighbors and all of our community to feel safe and know that the police officers and firefighters are there to quickly respond to their needs. I want the children that stop in my shop to buy an ice cream on their way to the library to be able to walk to their favorite place to explore the world. I want my elderly friends who have hot lunches delivered to them four days a week to get them because they worked hard all their life and now they need them. I want the family traditions of those who annually attend our special events to be able to continue to make family memories and new families to start them. I want Glendale businesses to grow and economically develop so we can continue to provide jobs and donate to the charities that are important to us.
The sales tax increase that was put in place Aug. 1 is .7 percent of one cent. That is 35 cents more in sales tax for every $50. I think the City of Glendale is worth that. A no vote for Prop 457 will keep the increase in effect. So, do you want to move forward or do we want to argue over the past?
A famous person once said that the most important thing he told his children as they were growing up was to show up for life. I urge every Glendale citizen to know the facts and show up for your life. Vote no for Prop. 457. -Linda Moran-Whittley
This was a letter to the editor of the Glendale Start dates 10/10/2012. Used with permission from Linda Moran-Whittley.
