Tax payers money!

My state like most others is going through tough times when it comes to budget shortfalls and making ends meet. We in Arizona just passed an emergency sales tax increase for the next three years to combat this shortfall in the budget, the yes's were out in force and this bill passed by the wides of margins. Good for us, now we can take care of all those things they warned would happen if we did not pass this bill, like not having to lay-off police, firemen, teachers, cut programs at schools and on and on and on............................

Sure there were other things we could do, like make some cuts in our local and state government. We could have cut some very important things like the 100's of thousands of dollars spent on middle management car allowances in our government.............NO not that, or just parking the cars management and middle management use to drive back and forth to work! Do these folks not own cars, so we pay for their cars, gas, parking and you and I both know most of these good folks don't dare us these vehicles for private use when not going to and from the work place! Anyway, enough of that because we all know there is plenty of waste much more than one could list in a short period of time.

But I will say there is one expense that has come to my attention that really bothers me a bit, an expense I feel is just another huge waste of taxpayer dollars. I'm driving home a few weeks back heading north on Cave Creek road and was looking at our new police station and new fire station being built within less that a block of each other. Now this is something we definitely need to spend tax dollars on, with more and more expansion we need added fire stations and police stations that's for sure! Here's the rub folks, these building as I watch them going up each time I drive by are just plain beautiful...............works of art, architects dreams and much more. Yes, these building look like multimillion dollar mansions up in hills of north Phoenix and Cave Creek. The bill to the tax payers for just the architects fees had to be in the millions, the construction did supply some jobs for a time and the beauty will be admired by passers by for years to come. I only have one question, if we are so close to cutting services like fire and police and schools etc. what the hell is wrong with the old red brick fire house with big red doors and barracks like sleeping the the firemen.................these mansions no doubt have private suite type rooms for these brave men and women and that's nice, but I thought we needed to cut back, cinch up the belt a bit! Holy cow what a waste of tax payer dollars for these show places when something practical and a lot more simple could have done the trick and still provided all the needed services we wanted!

Yes, we will pay one cent more in sales tax over the next three years (who thinks that won't end up being extended) but is it all necessary, could we have cut other expenses or at least trimmed them down a bit and still make ends meet................for sure!