Voters asked to allow city to spend all revenue it collects

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Voters will be asked May 16 to allow Scottsdale to spend all the revenue it collects.

City officials said state law currently caps the expenditure at an amount so low, Scottsdale cannot pay all of its bills.

Finance officials scrambled the past week to present the City Council a list of what might be lost if the existing budget limit is left intact.

The ballot proposition would not increase residents' taxes but would grant Scottsdale the authority to spend all that it collects.

Officials have calculated that $15 million in spending would need to be removed from the budget to remain under the cap next budget year, which begins July 1.

The city contends it is largely voter-approved expenses - such as the opening of a new senior center and the hiring of additional police officers - that have pushed costs beyond the cap.

Scottsdale is scheduled to exceed its $276 million limit by about $19 million this budget year.