The Budget

For the City of Tucson, the fiscal year starts on July 1.  This week for the first time in my role as a City Council Member, I voted to support the recommended budget. A budget that anticipates revenues and expenditures will be just over $2 billion dollars.

$2 billion dollars. That’s a 2 with 9 zeros, which is so long it won’t fit on my iPhone calculator. If I was able to sock away all my city council annual $24,000 salary, it would take more than 83 thousand years to reach 2 billion.

This large number starts to make sense when you consider the City’s huge operation and complicated responsibilities. We run the water system, fire and police departments, waste and recycling pickup (now called environment services), roads and buses, parks and pools, parking, city courts, the convention center, and more.

Mayor and Council approved an average raise of 3% for city workers, but given as a flat amount, so that those making less will receive a larger percentage raise. Only fire fighters got 3% across the board so that their step system wouldn’t get compressed. The city will also pick up the employee cost for the health insurance increase this year, which was added on to the proposed budget by a council vote Tuesday. Tucson Police Officers Association have disputed their raise as not enough because it doesn’t meet current market rates, a process available to them under the city charter. It will go to arbitration.

The city employs the full time equivalent (FTE) of more than 4,500 employees.

The only topic on the city’s budget that was addressed by speakers at the budget public hearing was bus fares. After the hearing, we voted to continue fare free transit through the end of 2022, both fares for buses and the streetcar. Fares were originally dropped as a response to the Covid pandemic. Mayor and Council extended it for six months so that staff could do a deep dive into the advantages and disadvantages of free fares and where we might find the revenue needed to not only maintain current bus service but improve it. We will address the issue again before the end of the year. I also asked the city manager to come up with a plan to address concerns from bus drivers and others who report increased violence and security issues, which some say have been linked to free fares, but I believe it has multiple causes and should be dealt with separately. 

Most of our budget continues what the city has been doing this year, with a few tweaks here and there (see city manager’s memo: https://tinyurl.com/bdfpba66). Unlike prior budgeting processes, additional revenue we expect next year will be allocated in a future process. Supplemental requests from city departments will come to Mayor and Council for review by late summer with final decisions to be made at the October 4 council meeting.

We got an advanced look at two departments’ supplemental requests. Due largely to concern about half our public pools not opening, Parks and Recreation presented on their needs for parks and pools (more about pools below). Planning and Development Services presented on plans to deal with the greater volume of work due to booming new construction which in turn is causing delays  in service. 

To look at the Tucson budget in more detail, spreadsheets are available on the city's website at https://tinyurl.com/2p8vdb5h. 

-Kevin

Public Pools by Katie Bolger

Just recently, Tucson’s Parks and Recreation Department announced that only 10 City pools would be open this summer, due in large part to not being able to fill enough lifeguard positions. It would be an understatement to say the Ward 3 office was upset upon learning the news. In Early March, Council Member Dahl co-signed a memo with Council Member Paul Cunningham asking the City Manager to pursue an “aggressive” hiring strategy for lifeguards. The goal was to not only open all of pools, but to open them one month earlier in the summer season and keep them open one month later. Currently, the summer schedule for pools is about two months long: June and July.

The City of Tucson website ( https://www.tucsonaz.gov/parks/pools-and-splash-pads) shows that there are 25 public pools. There are 4 open year-round, 5 that have an “extended season”, 11 open for the summer (roughly 2 months) and 5 that are permanently closed. Pretty anemic for the 37th largest city with more than 100 days over 100 degrees.

City parks and our public pools are a priority for the Ward office. They are not just an amenity but a necessity. They are a core service that the City provides and are called out in the City Charter. Unfortunately, during tight budget times, our parks and particularly our pools have been underfunded and neglected.

Public pools provide an option for people who lack the luxury of their own pool (or know someone who does) or the resources to purchase memberships to private pools. There are limited other options for safe outdoor activities in the extreme heat. Our pools (when open) are a great way to spend time with families and kids during summer break. Swimming is a popular form of exercise to those with limited mobility and health issues. Public pools are part of climate adaptation.

Unfortunately, lack of lifeguards is just one issue keeping pools closed in Ward 3 this summer. Mansfield pool – located in the Sugar Hill Neighborhood and in the 85705 zip code – is closed due to filtration issues. As our office has done a deep dive (pun intended) into the state of our City pools, we have come to realize that all of our pools are at least 40 years old, and many are decades older. Mansfield pool (age unknown) has had a non-working slide for the past 5 years and a diving pool that was closed last year (again filtration issues).

We realize that our public pools need advocacy and love. Our office is making this issue a priority. The City has access to one-time funds from the American Recovery Act and some of those one time funds need to be used immediately to repair and enhance our public pools.

Fortunately, Parks and Recreation was able to open another pool this week. Jacobs Pool (1020 W. Lind St.) is the only one in Ward 3 open right now. You can check the current status of Tucson pools at https://www.tucsonaz.gov/parks/pools-and-splash-pads.

Fiesta in the 05! By Marlene Avelino

Last Saturday at the Richey Resource Center in Old Pascua, the Thrive in the 05! threw a FIESTA for the community to roll out all the exciting action activities that will get underway in the Fall. The party included GREAT MUSIC FROM DJ GALLO, dance performances FROM VIVA PERFORMING ARTS, and free food from Gigi’s Peruvian Food, DC Jumbie’s Caribbean Food, Ruiz’s Hot Dogs, and Bugaloo’s Ice Cream Truck. Living Streets Alliance had free bike repair and Tucson Water was giving away reusable water bottles and had a tank on site to refill those who had brought their own.

Tucson Water truck to fill your own water bottle

The Thrive in the 05 Transformation Plan is a place-based, community centered, collaboration between residents, businesses, community organizations and institutions. There are three sources of funding, each with their own targeted goals. The first is a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, managed by the ASU Office of Community Health, Engagement, and Resilience (OCHER) for community-based crime reduction. The second is a Choice Neighborhoods grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, managed by the City of Tucson Department of Housing and Community Development that focuses on housing, neighborhoods, and providing services to the residents of the area. The third is Workforce and Economic Development, a collaboration between Pima Community College Downtown Campus and the City of Tucson Office of Economic Initiatives.

Community organizations presented proposals to those three sources for projects that aligned with those goals. The following Action Activities that will begin in early Fall;

Tucson Clean and Beautiful - Corridor Tree Planting

Plant hundreds of trees along major roadways and bike/pedestrian pathways to provide better shade and cooling.

Click Here To View Kevin's Ward 3 News and Updates : , June 10, 2022