Pima County supervisors on Tuesday approved a $1.16 billion budget for fiscal 2016 that includes a 20-cent combined property tax hike.
Supervisors Ray Carroll and Ally Miller cast the two dissenting votes, while Sharon Bronson, Ramón Valadez and Richard Elías voted in favor.
“We face tremendous challenges,” Valadez said.
Supervisors approved a combined primary and secondary property tax rate of $5.96 per $100 assessed value as part of the budget approval, which would cost the average homeowner with a property value of $152,000 an additional $30 in taxes per year.
The increase consists of an 11-cent hike in the primary tax used to fund daily operating expenses, while the library district tax would increase 8 cents and the flood-control tax would go up 1 cent.
State fire district assistance and the secondary tax to pay off bonds are not expected to change.
Valadez said the increased primary rate, which equals 11 cents of the new combined rate, is from state costs the Legislature shifted to the county.
“This budget is not a Pima County budget,” he said. “This is the state of Arizona determining our rate for us.”
He pointed out that as much as one-third of the county’s primary property tax collections goes to support state-provided services.
Bronson said the county’s budget was “defensive” in nature.
Supervisors said they are committed to reducing the primary property tax rate to its current level of $4.27 per $100 of assessed value if the county prevails in a recently filed lawsuit against the state.
In the suit, the county has asked the Arizona Supreme Court to reverse a cost shift that could force as much as $18 million in education-related costs onto the county.
County officials estimate the 11-cent increase to the primary property tax rate would raise more than $8.4 million, which county leaders say is needed to pay for the cost shifts.
Miller questioned whether the state had forced the costs onto the county, saying supervisors should have sought more cost-cutting measures in the budget.
“As we keep increasing taxes, guess what? Businesses are going to continue to leave,” Miller said. “We just can’t say no to buying new things.”
Supervisors also directed County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry to seek ways to fund step-pay increases or raises for the more than 500 sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers.
Many sheriff’s deputies attended the meeting Tuesday, asking supervisors to fund the increases.
Representatives from the Pima County Deputy Sheriff’s Association told supervisors the county has not funded the step program for several years. Step pay provides annual pay increases based on years on the job.
“The bottom line, by not adjusting the men and women of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department to the originally promised and now greatly needed step adjustment, it will indirectly affect the taxpayers of Pima County through added training and loss of valuable experience that cannot be replaced,” Deputy Kevin Kubitskey said.
Kubitskey also said many deputies have chosen to seek work in other law enforcement agencies or to leave police work altogether as result of the county’s below-market wages.
An Arizona Daily Star analysis of law enforcement pay from 2014 showed Pima County deputies receive a starting salary of $43,000, with median pay of $52,000.
The analysis showed Pima County had the lowest starting pay among Tucson-area law enforcement agencies.
The Pima County Deputy Sheriff’s Association estimates that fully funding the step program would cost $5.6 million.
Animal care contract
Supervisors unanimously approved a proposed contract for animal care services with the city of Tucson.
The contract calls for the city to pay more than $4.8 million in service fees to the county for Pima Animal Care Services in the next fiscal year.
County and city officials have been at odds over the contract details. City leaders disputed certain administrative overhead charges the county sought.
Supervisors agreed to waive $472,000 in past disputed charges, however, the county intends to continue to charge the city the administrative fees under the new contract.
The Tucson City Council still has to agree to the terms of the contract.
