NE Valley Times

At the May 7 town council meeting, the Fountain Hills town council voted against decreasing their maximum budget expenditure in any amount, even by $1, as suggested by councilman Allen Skillicorn. 

The council voted to approve their maximum budget expenditure for 2025 at $45.1 million, the maximum possible number under the law. Skillicorn proposed cutting 3% of the budget, which would amount to $1.35 million, to fund road repairs. His motion failed to receive a second. 

Skillicorn then made a motion to cut the budget by a single dollar. His motion failed with a 3-4 vote.

Councilmen Gerry Freidel, Hannah Toth, and Skillicorn voted for the motion, councilmen Peggy McMahon, Sharron Grzybowski, Brenda Kalivianakis, and Mayor Ginny Dickey voted against it. 

“Four big spending Liberal Ladies voted for the maximum under law budget and could not cut just $1,” Skillicorn said. “If we cannot cut the budget by just $1 to fix roads, one wonders how Dickey, McMahon, Grzybowski, and Kalivianakis plan to fix our roads?"

The proposed budget includes $7,087,540 for the streets fund in 2025, a 0.6% increase from the 2024 budget. The budget for just street repairs is $5,318,910, a decrease from the 2024 budget.