Supervisors: $1.4 billion in spending for county

TUCSON—After a day of wrangling, Pima County supervisors approved a $1.4 billion budget on a 3-2 vote Tuesday afternoon.

Despite a tax rate decrease, the assessed value of property—including homes—will continue to rise and make taxpayers pay more.

Supervisor Ray Carroll, who represents Green Valley, challenged many of the assumptions and figures in the budget, often joined by fellow Republican Ann Day.

In a short interview after the budget vote, he said the passage was “not in the spirit of compromise,” but more like “a spirit of belligerence.”

The budget is for fiscal year 2008-2009.

The tentative budget can’t be increased, but it can be reduced before its scheduled adoption June 17.

By state law, the taxes to pay for it must be adopted by Aug. 18.

The budget adopted Tuesday was $1.461 billion. Adopted budget for the current year was $1.483 billion.

The supervisors agreed the property-tax rate should be reduced to $4.6291 per $100 of assessed value, 40 cents less than this year.

Still with the decrease, it will generate $395 million, $16 million more than this year. That’s because of growth.

The county runs on things other than taxes such as fees, fines, licenses, but no sales tax.

Pima is Arizona’s only county that doesn’t collect its own sales tax, although the state imposes its sales tax within the county boundaries.

Like the current fiscal year there was no money budgeted for pay raises.

There have been no layoffs either.

Throughout the meeting, Carroll wondered aloud why weren’t more department heads there to answer questions.

There were about six department heads at the staff table at the rear of the room to answer questions, and Carroll grilled some of them closely.

Besides the $1.4 billion general fund budget, supervisors approved budgets for other parts of its operations.

The board budgeted $35,607,582 for the library district, that it once shared with the city of Tucson,

It scheduled to $100,521,623 for debt service, a $1,680,722 reduction from this year.

It also budgeted $55,930,530 to pay on general obligation bonds.

The supervisors agreed to budget $14,501,469 for the regional flood control district and $3,412,924 for the stadium district, a $879,115 increase over this year.

Carroll questioned the staff about that budget and why it costs so much for improvements at Tucson Electric Park.

And he suggested the stadium be repainted purple, the colors of the Colorado Rockies that train at City of Tucson-owned Hi Corbett Field as a way to lure the team there.

Supervisor Sharon Bronson immediately tried to quash that idea, saying the county shouldn’t be trying to lure away the city’s team to play at a county park.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry cautioned that funds from the state, which is facing a $2 billion budget shortfall, might be reduced, which would lead to more debate on how the county would cope with that loss.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749