The Pima County Board of Supervisors approved a tentative $1.35 billion budget Tuesday, setting the maximum expenditure before final budget adoption on June 19.
The combined property taxes for the taxing bodies the board controls add up to $5.86 for each $100 of assessed valuation, meaning the final rate could be lower but not higher than that. For a home worth $194,742 — the current county median according to Zillow — that would spell a tax bill of $1,140.88.
The tax rate is 12 cents lower than the current rate of $5.98, though some properties would not see a lower tax bill due to rising property values.
Supervisor Steve Christy was the lone no vote on the tentative budget, but voted for the library, flood-control and other district budgets controlled by the supervisors. He told the Star after the meeting there were elements of the budget he didn’t agree with, and “to be consistent” he voted against the tentative budget, just as he intends to do during final adoption.
“The real discussion will take place June 19,” said his fellow Republican supervisor, Ally Miller. “I just think he’s a little confused about the way it works.”
The primary property tax in the tentative budget includes a 25-cent property tax for road repair. However, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry is pushing for the supervisors to require a unanimous vote to renew it for a second year. Both Miller and Christy voted against it last year.
If the board approves the unanimous bar and the measure fails to clear it, the primary levy would fall 25 cents, but the second year of the local pavement-preservation plan would not be carried out, according to Huckelberry’s memo summarizing the tentative budget.
The supervisors will also consider a half-cent sales tax for road repair on June 19, though its chances of winning a statutorily established unanimous vote are slim.
Huckelberry’s recommended budget included 2.5 percent raises for most county employees and more substantial raises for some sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers.
His tentative budget proposal includes an additional 1 percent raise for employees making less than $50,000, which would be effective in early January, if approved. Approximately 3,600 employees would be eligible for the extra raise, and the annual costs once it is fully implemented would be $1.5 million.
Final budget adoption will take place on June 19 at 9 a.m. on the first floor at 130 W. Congress St.
