Now in our 21 st Ye
ar!
October 16, 2024 DesertMessenger.com DesertMessenger.com
“Quartzsite’s FREE Community Paper” “Quartzsite’s FREE Community Paper”
VOL. 21 #375
928-916-4235 928-916-4235
Proposition 402
By Shanana Rain Golden-Bear Town of Quartzsite’s Proposition 402 will be on the ballot for the General Election November 5, 2024. What is PROPOSITION 402? Quartzsite voters will be asked to decide the following ballot question, “Shall the Expenditure Base of the Town of Quartzsite be permanently Adjusted by $2,850,000.00?”
����� | S������ R��� G�����-B���
La Paz County is ready for Nov. 5th General Election
By Shanana Rain Golden-Bear On October 1, 2024 Arizona State Elections Director Lisa Marra and staff flew into Parker, AZ to perform the Logic and Accuracy (L & A) testing. Officials from the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office presented La Paz County Elections Office certification of the state-required Logic and Accuracy Testing of election equipment for the equipment to be used in the November 5th General Election. La Paz County Elections Director Bob Bartelsmeyer said he and his staff are ready for the General Election. Per state law, election equipment used for early voting must successfully pass a Logic and Accuracy test conducted by the Secretary of State’s Office prior to the start of early voting. The testing procedure ensures the machines are operating correctly ahead of voting time. In-person voting requires the deployment of voting equipment to be accessible for all voters, including voters with disabilities, as they’re used as ballot marking devices. The voting equipment was tested and verified to be secure. La Paz County has 11 precincts and 8 polling places within the three Supervisorial Districts. Early voting has begun. Early ballots were mailed out on October 9th! Any questions or concerns about your ballot, please call County Recorder’s office at 928-669-6136. Quartzsite voting will take place Tuesday, November 5th Hours: 6am-7pm at Community Center, 295 E. Chandler St. To learn more visit https://azsos.gov/ or arizona.vote.
□ A “YES” vote shall have the effect of allowing the Town to adjust its base expenditure limit. □ A “NO” vote shall have the effect of not allowing the Town to adjust its base expenditure limit. You might think, but wait, didn’t voters approve this last year? Proposition 401 was passed by voters in November 2023. It was a ONETIME override of $1,100,000 in excess of the Town’s expenditure limitation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Now the Town will return to the voters for a permanent solution. Expenditure limitation goes back to 1979 when property taxes were increasing at a rapid rate faster than personal incomes. Arizona voters approved amending the constitution to limit local government spending. They limited expenditures to the levels of the fiscal year 1979-80, with adjustments for inflation and population growth. Arizona Constitution was then amended to provide options to accommodate these growing financial needs. This allows voters
S PROP 402 PAGE 19
EE
WHAT’S INSIDE
4 County Comprehensive Plan 5 The Salvation Army Updates 6 Editorial 7 Letters to the Editor 7 Blood Drive 8 Gardening with Dennis 9 Toy Drive, Halloween, Garden Days, Town Hall 10 BLM Fees, Museum, Chamber, Art Guild, Vote Center Rules 13 Veteran’s Day 14 VFW Suicide Awareness, Transfer Station 15 Food Bank Update 15 World Singing Day 16 Satellite Voting, QES, Fire Academy, Show Dates 17 VFW Competitions 18 Around Town 19 Book Sale, Fundraising Concert, Care Group, AA 20 Senior Scams 21 German Students 22 Classifieds & Paul Winer Cartoon 23 Photos