Tucson mayor eyes new projects for second term

Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, running unopposed for a second term, sees the next four years as a time for Tucson to invest in itself.

In his first four years, Rothschild said, he is proud of downtown revitalization and road repairs.

The next four years are going to be a lot harder, he said. The job that has to be done, Rothschild said, is asking people to approve spending for things to advance the city, like a sales-tax funding source for transit or police services.

That would build on one of the city’s best successes in recent years, the ongoing road bond program approved by voters in 2012, he said.

“It was so important for the city to be able to show that it could get money and responsibly and properly utilize it,” Rothschild said. “We are under budget, we are ahead of schedule, and we’re seeing the results.”

And, he’s not getting phone calls from constituents about potholes much these days.

Next, he’d like to find more money to address streetscapes. “What we’ve learned is things like smooth roads, cleaning up graffiti, cleaning up weeds make a big difference,” he said.

Strapped for cash with skyrocketing pension costs, the city should hold a community conversation about a dedicated funding source — such as a half-cent sales tax — for transit or police services, Rothschild said.

Another option is keeping the current tax that funds the Regional Transportation Authority and reallocating the money in future rounds of projects, spending some on transit, he said.

The city also could increase the rate of return for Tucson Water to send money to the general fund to pay for core services like police, fire, roads and parks, freeing up other general fund dollars to pay for the public-safety pension.

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Rothschild is committed to business outreach and has created a small-business advocate and hotline and an office that helps city departments work together on big projects and developments. The city also has improved efficiency at the Development Services department in recent years, although there’s more to be done there, Rothschild said.

The Southern Arizona Business Political Action Committee, made up of Tucson Metro Chamber members, endorsed Rothschild. “Rothschild has reinvigorated the office of the mayor,” the group said.

He has worked with the chamber and worked to bring new employers to Tucson, the committee said.

To lure in major new employers, Rothschild said the city should work on establishing water infrastructure and other utilities at 100-acre parcels that are available for development so they’ll be ready to go when a company shows interest. The city would have to use bonds to pay for those projects, he said.

DOWNTOWN BOOM

The mayor said he’s pleased with the way downtown Tucson is shaping up and says there’s much more to come.

He acknowledged funding for the streetcar, the infrastructure centerpiece of downtown revitalization, was in place before he took office.

What he encouraged the city to do was provide tax incentives for private development.

Fletcher McCusker, chair of the Rio Nuevo board, said the mayor should get credit for the GPLET incentives that have “provided a spark” to get downtown revitalization going. The GPLET — government property lease excise tax — exempts property taxes for a certain number of years.

Next, Rothschild said he’d like to see tax incentive districts for more than just the downtown area, placing one in each city ward.