Pima County commits $250M to affordable housing

Pima County is set to spend $250 million in affordable housing efforts over the next 10 years under a 10-year plan the Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday.

The county will invest at least $200 million over 10 years, primarily through incremental increases in the primary property tax rate each year, in addition to the $5 million the board has allocated to affordable housing in its base budget since 2022. The plan pushed by Supervisor Matt Heinz passed 3-2, with Supervisors Rex Scott and Steve Christy voting no.

The plan will be implemented in the 2026-27 fiscal budget.

Under the plan, the county will consider a proposed annual increase of up to three cents on the primary property tax rate above the previous year’s allocation. The revenues generated would go to the county’s affordable housing fund.

In addition to the incremental tax increases, the county administrator “may utilize a combination” of revenue sources to make sure it reaches its annual goal of an additional $20 million.

Heinz’s proposal had gone through a few different iterations before passing.

Originally dubbed “Three Cents for Affordable Housing,” Heinz proposed the new policy during the Board’s April 15 meeting, which would have added three cents to the county’s primary property tax rate each fiscal year over a decade, for a total of 30 cents added to the primary property tax rate. That proposal was tabled.

The plan is a response to a housing study contracted out by the board last year that found the county will need an additional 38,584 affordable housing units over the next decade. A total of 116,000 additional housing units will be needed in the county over the next 20 years, the study said.

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Currently, the county is short about 21,700 units, according to Heinz’s proposal, “including 8,000 units to address homelessness and 13,700 units to meet underproduction.”

The approved policy will bring in enough funds to take care of approximately 12,500 units, or about one-third of what the county will need over the next decade, Heinz said.

“It’s a bold step, but it is not enough. It’s not nearly enough, but it is something that the county can become involved in and we really desperately need to,” Heinz said during Tuesday’s meeting. “There is continued concern with housing insecurity, and that housing insecurity can lead into homelessness, and people in their cars on the streets are sleeping in front of businesses or other things. So it’s a public health crisis ... it’s something that I see, frankly, every day when I’m working in the hospital. So it’s something that we have to do.”

Christy said he was opposed to the policy because the board was discussing implementing a 10-year plan with no public hearing or input. He called it a “a grave misjustice” to property taxpayers “that are paying for this whole program.”

Scott, the Board’s chair, said he preferred to wait on voting on a funding source until the board receives a draft plan from the Regional Affordable Housing Commission, which is expected in November.

Since the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the board has approved $5 million in “Affordable Housing Appropriations” for the housing commission.

That amount was included in County Administrator Jan Lesher’s recommended budget for this upcoming fiscal year, but Heinz requested that amount be increased to $8.5 million this upcoming fiscal year. The board passed that increase in appropriated funds by a vote of 4-1 with Christy voting against it.

Those funds are interest from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, Lesher told the board Tuesday.

The board is expected to approve next year’s fiscal budget for the county on June 17. The county’s fiscal year begins July 1.