The city of South Tucson has been able to resolve two lawsuits that had the potential to bankrupt the tiny municipality.
The cityβs council signed off on $140,000 settlement with private hauler Waste Management last week. The three-year deal ended a lawsuit over a long-running dispute over $300,000 in an unpaid bill related to residential garbage collection.
The city was set to pay its first installment of $45,000 to the company last week.
Interim City Attorney Mark Raven added to the good news during the same meeting, telling the Council that Pasadera Behavioral Health Network recently ended its legal fight with the city.
Last month, the nonprofit that provides behavioral-health care and substance-abuse treatment closed its doors over mounting financial pressures.
In paperwork filed in Pima County Superior Court, Pasadera said the decision by South Tucson officials to deny them the permits they needed to reopen the former Arizonaβs Children Association home has hurt their organization.
A letter sent to the cityβs Board of Adjustment estimated the decision cost the nonprofit $800,000 in damages in addition to the roughly $2 million Pasadera paid for the property.
In order to pay down bills, the council has agreed in principle to sell the Sam Lena Library, which is part of the municipal complex, to Pima County.
Under the terms of the sale plan, the county will write down hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt owed by South Tucson. Most of the debt is associated with unpaid bills tied to the county jail and the Pima Animal Control Center.
