Voters in 12 cities and one school district will vote Tuesday on city council races, and in Phoenix they will vote on a bond issue earmarked for public works projects, such as new parks and fire stations, infrastructure improvements and cleanup and redevelopment along the Salt River.

City council and/or mayoral races are on the ballot in Apache Junction, Carefree, Cave Creek, Gila Bend, Gilbert, Goodyear, Guadalupe, Peoria, Surprise, Tolleson and Youngtown. Four of those cities, Apache Junction, Goodyear, Peoria and Tolleson, are considering home rule, which would allow them to exceed the state-mandated budget limits. Home rule would allow them to spend substantially more on infrastructure improvements.

Voters in Phoenix will decide the fate of a $753.9-bond proposal. The city says it can repay the bond issue, which will total $1.6 billion with interest, without increasing property taxes, but anti-tax advocates and the county's tax assessor say that just isn't so.

County tax assessor Kevin Ross says that he anticipates rising property values 5.4% this year. The City's tax proposal would not change the current $1.82 rate per $100 of assessed valuation. Traditionally, the tax rate has been lowered as valuations go up to the keep the tax amount about the same. But with the bond proposal the rate would remain constant. That amounts to a tax increase, Ross claims.

But supporters of the bond proposal say that the valuations and tax rate has nothing to do with the bond issue, and that the rate was intended to remain the same.

If the bond issue passes, Phoenix will use the monies to continue to fund the $100-million cleanup and redevelopment of the Salt River as it runs through the city. The river has long been an eyesore and dumping ground, but preservationists want it returned to is natural riparian state, complete with running water, biking and hiking trails running parallel to the river and informational kiosks. The cleanup and infusion of capital into the area could make it viable area for new commercial development. With its Tempe Town Lake project, built in the riverbed of the Salt River, Tempe has attracted a new football stadium and countless other projects.

Residents of Phoenix will also vote on Proposition 202, which would prohibit the city council from attaching an "emergency clause" to any laws except those related to fire, police and essential services. The proposition grew out of an effort by the city two years ago to push through a plan to help subsidize the development of a new convention hotel in downtown Phoenix at the Collier Center. Public sentiment against the plan forced the city to pull the proposal, and downtown has yet to see any new hotel development.