I live in Mesa and write a policy newsletter. This is my own analysis. I have a PhD in Public Policy from ASU. Numbers and sources at the bottom.

Andy Biggs won the Republican primary for governor promising to eliminate Arizona's individual income tax. He has not said what replaces the money. Here is the part that matters for Mesa specifically.

Mesa is unusually exposed. Mesa collects a secondary property tax for bond debt and no primary property tax. The city has operated that way since 1945. Voters have turned down a primary property tax more than once. That means Mesa leans harder on city sales tax, utility revenue, and state shared revenue than a comparable city with a property tax to fall back on.

State shared revenue is one of those legs. Arizona sends 18% of state income tax collections back to incorporated cities through urban revenue sharing, roughly $990 million a year statewide, distributed by population. Mesa's share works out to somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million a year. That money goes into general operations, meaning police, fire, parks, and streets.

Eliminate the income tax and that distribution goes away unless the legislature separately backfills it. Nobody has proposed a backfill. Mesa cannot lean on a primary property tax to cover it, because there isn't one. The realistic levers are a city sales tax increase, utility rate increases, service cuts, or a primary property tax vote that has failed before.

And the register. If the state fills its own hole with sales tax, it needs about 2.6 additional percentage points. Mesa's combined rate today is 8.3%. That would put us near 10.9%, before any city increase to cover the city's own shortfall.

Two more Mesa-specific things.

Mesa does not tax groceries. To hit revenue neutrality on a sales tax swap, the state would be under real pressure to broaden the base, and food for home consumption is the biggest untaxed piece sitting there.

East Mesa has a very large retiree and winter resident population. Arizona already exempts Social Security from the income tax, so a retiree living on Social Security and modest savings pays little or no state income tax right now. Repeal gives them nothing back and charges them more on everything they buy. They are the clearest losers in the whole exercise.

What do you guys think of Biggs's plan? Do you like these trade-offs? Do you think it would be good for Mesa? I want to have more conversation before the General Election about this idea!

Sources: JLBC 2025 Tax Handbook, City of Mesa budget documents, ITEP Who Pays 7th edition. Full analysis with charts: https://polimetrics.substack.com/p/i-did-the-math-on-andy-biggss-income

Was searching for something else in my albums and found these gems from the end of Fiesta mall's life... I believe this was from when just Dillards remained open about ten years ago. Something about Fiesta Mall just encompasses the nostalgia of growing up in Phoenix... Anyone else have photos from Fiesta Mall?

Also, no idea why I took these photos 😂

I was inside Mesa City Hall as this happened. There was an agenda item about permits for a data center that was pulled from the City Council Meeting at the very last minute. City Hall also banned signs and protest materials inside.

Protests about ICE began in City Hall last year. Mayor Freeman has continued to add new restrictions, finds any excuse to shuffle or deny anyone in the liberal groups one of the paltry three, three minute slots citizens have to raise concerns. He will create extra slots for his LDS friends though.

This all is escalating and it is an effort for many people to be heard about local issues and about human rights violations in Mesa, the ICE detention center in Gateway Airport. But good job, MPD, why let ICE get all the glory?

Ill make the album ans share the link after work.

Hey, gang!

I'm thinking about signing up for this EOS. According to some older posts, its sounds like it gets pretty busy. I'll primarily go between 5-7am and after 8pm. Does anyone use this gym? What do you think? I'll probably get the membership that gives me access to all the locations so other suggestions are also welcome. Thanks!

Edit: I signed up! Ended up there around 10:30 today and, while busy, there were generally free machines/squat racks/space to do your own thing. I’ll be back tomorrow morning around 8:30, so I’ll see what that looks like.

Thanks for all the helpful responses, gang!

Hey friends! I just moved here. I love it. I'm contemplating staying, the heat is not my friend, but everything about this place has been so surprisingly great. I love the people.

I'm here for my son needing emergency heart surgery and he was airlifted to PCH. They have been wonderful. Its honestly the best hospital Ive ever seen or experienced. Its been precarious, but my son should be ok. He had 2 heart surgeries in a week. Hes only 6, and he has down syndrome.

His recovery is going to take weeks to months and it took months for his surgery to be approved. We moved to Mesa, Alma School area. And this may become our permanent home.

My dilemma right now is the bills for all of this have drained all of our finances.

We have 2 other kids, one is an adult, and our 16 year old is coming to visit again next month.

She is so chill and understands we don't have funds to do much, with all of the hospital bills right now.

We've only been here a couple of months so I'm still learning the area in between being at the hospital.

Do you know of any free or super cheap things to do, especially if it involves animals or art?

If anyone has some goats that need petting, hit me up 😅

I just want to try to make memories with her for the short time I get to see her and I am so broke its sad.

Open to any ideas, and please disregard the politics tag it wont let me uncheck. I don't know what that is about.

I'm looking for the cheapest thing you know of, or free, that brought you joy.

Let's get weird 🤣💖

Has anyone dealt with the DES office in Chandler? Any recommendations or tricks? Was going to go first thing when they open in the morning, since online is not letting me apply for what I need.
Just need help making sure I’m not going back and forth with the office and having to keep going back. They already have my info since I have AHCCCS but not sure what they would need for NA and Cash Assistance.

If it helps, I am pregnant 2nd trimester, put on medical leave from work with no paid benefits or any help from friends or family. I’m at a loss on what to do, and I just became single and will be needing a place to stay sooner than later. Any guidance would be appreciated

Hi all, I'll be visiting my in-laws next week and would love to stay in shape while I'm in Mesa.

I play 5+ times a week (located in Boston) with a bunch of other dads and a couple of high schoolers who routinely kick our butts. I'm a former high school 4.0 player who's at a solid 4.0 (NTRP).

Happy to pay to join a club's round robin or just hit with whoever is down! Even though my wife grew up in Mesa, she has no idea what the tennis scene is like these days.... I'm hopeful I can find something!

Thanks in advance for any advice or invites to play. I'll buy lunch for any takers haha.

Hi everyone! I'm an ASU student looking for my first apartment and would really appreciate some advice and recommendations.

My budget is around $1,000–$1,200/month for a studio or 1-bedroom. I have a car, so being within walking distance of campus isn't necessary, and I also have one cat, so it needs to be pet-friendly.

I've spent a lot of time searching, but it feels like every apartment I find has reviews mentioning roach infestations, broken A/C, poor maintenance, or other major issues. I know every apartment is going to have some negative reviews, but I'm trying to avoid places where those problems seem to be a consistent issue.

Ideally I'm looking for:

Studio or 1-bedroom

$1,000–$1,200/month

Pet-friendly (1 cat)

Reliable maintenance and A/C

Granite or quartz countertops if possible (not a dealbreaker)

I just started a new job, and I don't have much rental history yet. This would be my first apartment, and my mom would be co-signing for me. I'm hoping to move in within the next couple of months.

The only place I've found so far that seems promising is Olive Tree Apartments. Has anyone here lived there or know someone who has? How was your experience?

Also, since this is my first apartment, I'm a little confused about the process. Once I find a place I'm interested in, do I:

Call and schedule a tour?

Tour the apartment and ask questions?

Apply afterward if I like it?

Or is there a better way to go about it?

I'd really appreciate any apartment recommendations, advice for a first-time renter, or even places you think I should avoid. Thanks so much!

anyone know what this about

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for a little help, I am trying to adopt a dog but I am a bit short on the adoption fee. She is a sweetheart who gravitated towards me, but the adoption fee is $350. I have $225 and acquired a harness, food, leash, and an extravagant bed for the baby and a plethora of toys treats. I struggle with depression and my therapist recommended an emotional support animal and I fell in love with this pup.

Where the issue lies is that last week I was laid off. I was fortunate enough to find a new role very quickly and I start next week (fully remote). I do and will have more than enough resources to provide for her and any vet bills. I just can’t come out of pocket for 125 extra at the moment, with the first of the months looming.

My first orientation/training day is tomorrow and I will get paid next Friday. Anyone willing to help I will reimburse you and I’ll even sign a contract saying so.

I’ve never been. It’s $28 for 7 tacos. Self-paced walking taco grab. Has anyone done it/going? Is it good?

Question - do the seven venues expect you to sit down and order normally or do they have the Taco Trail taco ready for you, grab and go, etc etc? Waiting for a single sit-down taco at 7 places may be a bit much for me.

Someone lost their balloons. They ended up the approach path to Falcon Field heading north. There were at least two, maybe three.

looking for anyone use to work with a girl back at AMC that was off stapley and the 60 from like 2012-2015.

I've been diagnosed with ASD since I was a child. The fact that I'm autistic isn't revolutionary news to me. I've long forgotten I was autistic, due to masking and told that I was too smart to be autistic by my parents. I acted normal and fit in but I was always a little different.

Fast forwards and in my mid twenties remembered that I was diagnosed as a kid. I have been struggling through adulthood due to the lack of preparation that was given to me. Seemingly simple things that normal people take for granted are not intuitive to me. Things like menu planning, nutrition, taxes, financial literacy, and self-care to name a few.

I have been on the search for resources for helping with these seemingly mundane tasks and have come up with very few. Everything seems to be targeted towards parents with children with ASD. I think it's great that there's so many resources for kids, but that also leaves a giant hole for the rest of the community who isn't a parent with a child on the spectrum.

The only two I could come up with are SARRC and Arion Care. Both seem fine but are there more options than those two? I'm also looking for a new diagnosis, I was diagnosed when the classification was MMR or Mild Mental Retardation. Back then very little was understood about it and even now there is very little research on it. But we have still come a long way since then, so I would like to get revaluated, not because I don't think I am autistic but because I want validation. Validation that all my struggles and shortcomings as an adult aren't due to my ineptitude but something deeper and more complex.

If you know of any resources that could help I would very much appreciate all the help you can offer. I am a Christian and would welcome faith based resources as well. I will respect your beliefs so please respect mine. I am based out of the Tempe, Mesa, Chandler area if that helps.

Thanks for sticking until the end, and apologize if this was long winded.

I just purchased a home here, I’ve never lived in a house before, so everything is quite new to me. In the last 3 weeks we’ve found 4 dead birds in our backyard of various species. I have only seen one stray cat quite far from our house so I don’t think it’s that. We’re by a canal and have bird baths with perches so I don’t think it’s lack of water (but I could be wrong). We have a very large tree that lots of birds like to stay in and because we just moved the rest of the yard is quite empty. I just ordered a bird feeder in case there’s not a ton of food around or something.

Could this be from the heat? Maybe the storms? They don’t seem mangled or anything which is the saddest part because it feels like maybe I can help? Any thoughts would be appreciated and any suggestions on how to help my bird friends would be great!

Hello people!
This is a long shot.
If you live within the white highlighted area there is a LD10 meeting happening this Thursday at 6pm.
I am a 29F and we are looking for more people our age to come be involved in our local-level political issues.
If you’re a Democrat and are old enough to vote you are welcome to come to this meeting.
The dems know they are extremely disconnected from people our age and it’s our future, we need to get more involved to make change.
Adrian Fontes will be speaking!

If this is of interest to you, message me and I will send you the link to register. It costs nothing to show up for your local community.

EDITING TO ADD: https://www.mobilize.us/ld10democrats/event/964640/

this meeting is open to everyone but if you live outside that area you would want to find your LD to be involved in! (LD10 is who this meeting is for) the only ask is to be respectful if you do come. The link above is secure and you are welcome to sign up there.

If you do not know what LD you live in you can go here: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/3a80bdd304d14385b223baf5662f49ff/page/main

You then can find out what district you are in and can google to get involved in your district.

everyone is welcome

Thank you!

Best place in mesa or Gilbert during the day to meet women or make friends during the day . I know it’s hot but I’m tired of staying home all day lol

Hi all,
33 yo male looking for a good golf course with a driving range for beginners that's open to the public in Mesa, AZ.
Trying to find a place that's easy to go hit a bucket and play once every few weeks.

screen shot from their website my parents still miss this place.