Finances to delay health, transit

The Green Valley area can’t look forward to more help from Pima County on health care and transit next fiscal year, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry disclosed in a memo last week.

Late Friday, Huckelberry issued a 60-page-plus memo to the County Board of Supervisors, answering some of the questions that arose during last month’s budget hearing.

Regarding a request from the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council, Huckelberry also wrote there won’t be enough county money to increase county-funded health care and transit services.

The coordinating council also asked for improved maintenance on local county roads.

A letter from GVCCC President Russ Symes said, “Many of our roads are deconstructing. We need our roads repaired, maintained and improved.”

Symes said people here “eagerly await Pima County’s moving forward with the Continental Road/East Frontage Road intersection, which was part of the 1997 bond in the 2008/2009 budget year.”

Symes said the cutbacks were expected and said the keys to many parts of the budget lie with the Arizona Legislature.

“What’s the state going to do?” he asked in an interview.

“The state hasn’t looked at the budget. It hard to plan if the state’s not doing its share.”

Symes said the state’s in the middle of a three-year financial crisis, which came as no surprise.

On the question of increased health care services, Huckelberry wrote, “Under existing budget constraints, no expanded services are possible.”

He added, “The program cannot be expanded as requested without additional revenues.”

Lack of information from Phoenix may prove harmful to Green Valley’s older residents living on fixed incomes, said Symes.

“We’re going to do lots of complaining,” Symes said of the state’s delays.

On the council’s request for more financial help for local bus service, the county administrator said there should be an extra $505,000 for the circulator bus route here, “provided additional funding cuts to the transportation function of the county are not made” by the state.

On more local road improvements, the county administrator said the state Highway User Revenue Fund is “actually decreasing statewide.”

Huckelberry blamed that on rising gasoline prices.

He added, “Costs associated with highway maintenance, particularly pavement preservation, are increasing as fast as fuel prices.”

He cautioned that “New transportation related taxation will be necessary in the future if the County is to maintain the local streets and highways to the standards desired by local residents.”

Much of Huckelberry’s lengthy memo was directed to questions raised by Supervisor Ray Carroll, who represents Green Valley.

When next fiscal year’s tentative general fund budget was adopted May 14, it called for expenditures totaling $1.461 billion, lower than the current budget of $1.483 billion.

Before it’s officially adopted, the tentative budget may be reduced, but not increased

That adoption is scheduled June 17 at the County Building in Tucson.

Tax rates will be adopted Aug. 18 , a Monday.

At the May 20 budget hearings Carroll and fellow Republican Supervisor Ann Day often criticized the process.

Carroll particularly was upset that more department heads weren’t there to answer questions about how they crafted their budgets.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749