In an effort to create viable funds for the city's savings account, the Tombstone City Council held a forum to elicit public opinion on a new water fee for residents and business owners.

The fee, if passed, would charge Tombstone residents $5 per month and business owners $10 per month for using the city's water for the next three years. For the council to pass this additional fee, they were legally mandated to hold a public forum and will vote to officially pass it during the next council meeting.

Mayor Stephen Schmidt said he thinks the fee will pass, and that if it does it could put about $187,000 back into the city's savings account upon its three-year termination date. The city's previous administrators would spend money before they had it, Schmidt said, and monies generated from the fee could help prevent this from happening in the future.

"The water fee will let us see some income, so when things come up, we have money to spend that's already in the system," Schmidt said. This could include money for grants in which the state could match funds or engineering for other types of water plans, he added.

Some residents were skeptical, however, and pointed at past failed efforts to raise funds for the city. Sue Sinsley, a Tombstone resident for nearly a decade and a co-business owner with her husband, told the council that constituents should not have to contribute to the city's financial shortages and that the fee needs more explanation before it can be passed.

"Where are the other (water) grants that are in the books?" she asked. "Are they still in the works? Are they coming?"

Sinsley explained that as someone who has watched the city try and obtain water funds for years, she doesn't trust any new plan and thinks they should fix the current reservoirs. She has seen the city lose multiple grants because they "get halfway through with something and change their minds in the middle," she said.

"Due to lack of management... we are constantly stuck with no finished product and the public has to bear the financial burden," she added. "We're darned if we do and we're darned if we don't."

Her husband and former councilman, Moe Sinsley, said the fee isn't addressing the water problem long term and would just act as a Band-Aid.

"It (the fee) needs to be put on a ballot and voted on by the people," he said. "We can do better than throwing it out there and not looking at the water resources we have."

Schmidt explained that former efforts to generate water funds failed because they were not properly implemented by former city officials. In 2010, the state granted the City of Tombstone funds for a "blending plan," which would mix contaminated water from one well with spring water with another to meet drinking water requirements. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality asked the city to submit a plan of how the blending would be done, but instead the city found an arsenic removal plan in Goodyear, essentially ditching the blending plan for a less regulated option. Once the city realized they didn't have the engineering or land to implement the new plan, they lost their original grant funds and were ineligible for another, Schmidt said.

The good news about the fee is that funds from it can be used for anything, unlike grants and other state-mandated monies, Tombstone Financial Consultant Reuben Villa said.

"It (the fee) could be used for emergency situations, infrastructure problems, or any which way the council needs to use it," he said. "It would definitely help ease the burden on our accounts."

We caught up with Tombstone's Marshal as he talks goals, accomplishments, and why he believes his city is still a work in progress.

Since becoming Tombstone's Marshal three years ago, what has been your most difficult task to date?

Dealing with budgetary cuts has been a challenge. We've had to handle a lot more with a lot less manpower. Another challenge has been restoring confidence and faith in the Tombstone community. We've made it a priority to focus on cases that haven't gotten prosecuted.

What are a few goals you have already accomplished since becoming the city's Marshal?

Reestablishing priorities. It was also important for me to instill core values into this department and to come up with a mission statement. Another one of my bigger accomplishments has been to put people in drug or alcohol counseling. My first priority is not to put people in jail, because they often come out worse. I have actually driven people to rehab. Whether they choose to go or not has been up to them.

What first drew you into Tombstone and what made you decide to take the position as Marshal?

I worked with DPS in Cochise County for 15 years. I saw problems in both departments. I took the job with Tombstone because the residents deserve better than they have been given in the past. My ultimate goal is to change the reputation of the Marshal's office.

What do you believe is the biggest problem facing Tombstone today?

The three biggest problems are crimes against kids, women and elderly. If one of these crimes comes up, they are always the department's top priority. Everything else automatically gets pushed aside. In fact, one of the department's most recent successes was the prosecution of a pedophile who committed crimes against little kids. He received 292 years in prison. Meth and heroin use and burglary have also been huge issues here. My belief is that the burglaries are being committed by the drug users. We've also had problems with alcohol use, which often turns into violence. We get a lot of the alcohol-fueled bar fights around here.

What are your solutions for these problems?

Right now Tombstone only has one AA meeting available for alcohol users. There are no NA meetings for people to go to, and transportation to the AA meetings has been an issue. It would be my goal to provide transportation through a voucher system. Hopefully we can organize something like that in the near future.

What is your stance on gun laws, especially in a historical city like Tombstone?

My personal belief is that guns are not the issue. We actually have very few problems with firearm violence here, and practically everyone owns and carries a weapon. I think that the issues with guns come from a lack of the mental health care.

You have a great reputation so far as the city's Marshal. What have you done to solidify the trust of the people of Tombstone, and what will you do in order to keep their trust?

Accountability is huge to me. If I'm the chief and I mess up, then it's my fault. The positive thing about our current department is that we have the right fit. Everybody that's here wants to be here. I'm saying this because honestly the pay sucks. It all goes back to transparency – it's our department's job to sell good work. We have to be honest and admit when we've messed up. We have to be able to say, "I did this...but here's how I will fix it." The department and the city itself is still a work-in- progress.

Has it been a struggle for you as Marshal to find a way to adapt to modern laws while at the same time preserving the historical aspect of the city?

It's all a balancing act. A lot of people come here because they are drawn to the western atmosphere, and they may be living 150 years back in that mindset without modern laws. Until it becomes an issue here, an outdated law is still the books. A law doesn't change until someone draws attention to it. For example, we still have a lot of outdated gun laws. I will make it my mission to rewrite many of the policies and procedures. But that's talking long term. If they let me stay long enough, I will make more major changes.

Tombstone Marshal Billy Cloud thinks the issue of mental health, not guns, should be at the forefront of America's gun control debate.

And he's not the only one.

In the aftermath of the recent mass shootings in Connecticut and Colorado, most Americans are reconsidering what role mental illness plays in gun crimes.

With a near $1.5 million negative balance in its investment account, the Tombstone City Council has implemented fees, furloughs and pay cuts in hopes of getting out of the red by June.

The council reinstated a Historic District Maintenance Fee, which would generate a fee based on the gross sales of tourist-related businesses such as motels, restaurants and retail shops to maintain cleaning costs.

The city will determine how much each affected business is required to pay for the maintenance fee after they obtain first quarter sales numbers from the Department of Revenue in March. The fee, which has now become part of the city's official code, would then be due in April.

How has the city council discussed increasing revenue for the town in a time when tourism has stagnated?

It wasn't so much how to bring in more money, but how to implement cutbacks for the town. We are $400,000 in the hole and Reuben, the financial advisor for the city, wanted us to be out of that by June.

Tombstone’s newly elected city council has a lot on its plate.

There's a street that may collapse at any moment.

It’s unclear if Black Tech is the business dynamo the town needs or a shady deal of questionable legality.

Christopher Edmonds volunteers four days a week at the Tombstone Senior Center and the food bank.

Edmonds, 40, is also an inmate at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Douglas, convicted on drug-related burglary charges.

“I like working in Tombstone because they treat us with respect out here. They like having us out here and they say thank you,” Edmonds said. “I also love working in Tombstone because there are so many different projects to do that there is always something different.”

Tombstone schools, and others across the state, are bracing for the loss of more funding with the failure of Proposition 204.

Prop 204 was a voter initiative that would have allocated funding for education by extending a 1-cent state sales tax, set to expire this May. For school districts around the state, the loss of tax money could lead to bigger class sizes, smaller salaries and layoffs.

Incumbent Stephen Schmidt will remain mayor of Tombstone after defeating Jack Henderson, according to unofficial election results Wednesday.

Schmidt went away with 271 votes—59.69 percent of votes cast—compared to Henderson’s 178 votes or 39.21 percent.

The Ward 4 City Council seat was also up for grabs in the Nov. 6 election, and the unofficial results have Herbert Linn ahead of Deborah Bachman with 110 to 80 votes or 57.59 percent to 41.88 percent.

Herb Linn, retiree, and Deborah Bachman, saleswoman at Arlene’s, are in a runoff for the Ward 4 seat. The two candidates discussed with us their potential plans and thoughts about Tombstone’s debt, Toughnut Street and the water situation.