The ghost of politics past paid an angry visit to the Payson Town Council chambers on Wednesday, April 12 – with an irate crowd protesting the town council’s decision to
Faced with the threat of a lawsuit, during its March 25 meeting, the Payson Town Council decided to keep two town codes that seek to implement Propositions 401 and 402, passed by the voters in 2018.
The propositions require the council to put to a vote of the people any bond or contract debt that exceeds $1 million or when the town wants to sign a lease agreement of town property that lasts longer than three years. The question of whether the council can implement these laws, or if they lack the authority, has stirred a vigorous debate across two councils and several meetings.
The propositions first went to test last September when the council purchased two fire engines that totaled $1.4 million. At that time, the council decided the town code was null and void because the Arizona Constitution did not provide the legal permission to implement the laws.