[Source: Casey Newton, Arizona Republic] — Voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a 30-year extension of Phoenix’s Parks and Preserve Initiative, ensuring hundreds of millions of dollars for the construction and operation of recreational areas in the city. Unofficial results showed that more than four in five voters supported extending the decade-old tax, which amounts to one cent for every $10 purchase. Supporters hailed the passage of the tax as a landmark step in the effort to provide high-quality parks and preserves within Phoenix. “I thank and congratulate the voters of Phoenix who, once again, have expressed their remarkable vision,” Mayor Phil Gordon said in a statement. “Not even a troublesome national economy can discourage our citizens from embracing a good opportunity to invest in the city our children will inherit.”
The tax, which generated $198 million in its first 10 years, pays for park improvements and land acquisition. The initiative approved Tuesday expands the possible uses of those funds to include operational expenses including salaries for park rangers and maintenance workers. Under the terms of the initiative, 40 percent of the proceeds will be used to acquire land for Phoenix’s Sonoran Preserve. About 3,700 acres have been acquired to date using initiative funds. The remaining 60 percent will fund improvements to parks throughout the city.
The election was the first in which Phoenix used its permanent early-voter list, automatically mailing a ballot to anyone who asked. As a result, voter turnout exceeded 20 percent. Turnout in the previous citywide election, in which the list was not used, was 18.7 percent.
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