Graf: Let’s debate ideas

The question of whether Green Valley and Sahuarita should abandon Pima County to join Santa Cruz County was debated again Thursday at the Valle Verde Rotary Club.

Former legislator Randy Graf of Green Valley, who first raised the question, said, “I think we have a legitimate debate.”

Graf told about 30 Rotarians there were reasons it would be a good idea, and reasons it wouldn’t.

“We haven’t lost anything” to debate it, “if it doesn’t go anywhere,” said Graf.

Graf and others supporting the idea of leaving much larger Pima for the state’s smallest county, Santa Cruz, argue that local residents pay more in county taxes than is ever returned here.

The local taxpayers pay about $35 million a year in county taxes, but only “get about $7 million here,” he said.

Graf said that’s an estimate, because he and others have asked the county for the figures several times and the requests have been ignored.

He said one of the most oft-heard objections is that the County Library would suffer if the shift happens.

Not so, he said.

Local residents pay about $2 million in library-supporting taxes, while its operation costs about $800,000 a year, he said.

Pima County’s population is about one million; Santa Cruz’s 45,000 plus.

With the 50,000-plus added from this area, Santa Cruz would be large enough to have a five-member Board of Supervisors, instead of the current three.

Graf estimated that two or more of those supervisors would represent Green Valley - Sahuarita.

Graf said the idea of redrawing county lines has been tried before in Arizona. What’s now La Paz County broke away from Yuma County in 1983.

Other than that, Graf said state law is silent on moving one part of a county into another, and he added, “There’d be no guarantee what it would look like in 10, 20 or 30 years.”

There would be some drawbacks.

In April, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry wrote his supervisors that if the realignment were to occur, Santa Cruz County would expect Santa Cruz to pay for $111 million in completed county projects here and another $44 million for projects under way.

Graf said he’d have some differences with those figures.

And Graf said if the county lines were redrawn, there would be an immediate effect.

He said the average daily high temperature in Pima County is 68.4 degrees Fahrenheit while in Santa Cruz it’s 60.3. To laughter,he said “just like that” local residents would have 8.1 degree cooler days.

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