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For those of you who have been following Carl Pavlock's ongoing series on the efforts of Save Glendale Now (SGN) to get a proposed sales-tax increase by the City of Glendale up for a public vote, you will be interested to learn that today the Arizona Court of Appeals determined that the sales-tax should in fact be placed on the ballot in November, overturning a previous ruling by the Maricopa County Superior Court. Read on for initial reactions...
The most important thing to take away from today is that the sky is not falling on the Phoenix Coyotes deal. The city of Glendale still has the option of appealing this decision to the Arizona Supreme Court, and given the differing opinions on the meaning of some of SGN's language, there is a very good chance the Supreme Court will take it up.
It's also important to note that this does not in any way change the lease agreement between the City of Glendale and Greg Jamison. The only thing that does potentially change is how Glendale pays for not just the lease, but other essential services. The city has made in clear on numerous occasions that the sales-tax increase is necessary for the city's finances regardless of what happens at Jobing.Com Arena.
One final interesting note: the Appellate Court mentioned the argument that many of SGN's opponents have raised that an initiative cannot retroactively stop a legislative action, but made no further comment on that beyond saying that "citizens have the right to put anything they wish on the ballot, including items that may be unconstitutional". While I wouldn't necessary read too much into this, it does possibly suggest that the initiative may face more legal challenges even after the November election.
Ultimately, the sales-tax increase is in the same place it was mid-July. It serves no good purpose for Coyotes fans to be worked up about this issue until no further legal challenges are pursued and the November election comes and goes.