Mayor Regina Romero touted the city efforts to address social, economic and climate ills Tuesday in her annual βReport to Tucsonansβ speech while also calling on the passage of a half-cent sales tax in March.
Five topics that align with issues included in the sales tax plan were emphasized by Romero: affordable housing and homelessness, support for first responders, better roads, infrastructure and park improvements and community safety and resources.
Tucson mayor Regina Romero gives her annual report of the city Tuesday at the Tucson Convention Center. Her talk mirrored issues that are included in a tax-plan going to voters in March.
The city has taken βbold action grounded in evidence-based, data-driven decision makingβ over the past year to address major challenges, Romero told the crowd gathered at the Tucson Convention Center. They include βa housing crisis, a climate crisis, an opioid and Fentanyl crisis, the growing number of unsheltered individuals and aging infrastructure.β She also said it was important to recognize βwhat is working and what we should continue investing in.β
Strategic action plans like the cityβs Resilient Together climate action plan, its Housing Affordability Strategy, or the Prosperity Initiative the city and county adopted in late 2023 βwere created to help us craft the policies and ordinances needed to move Tucson forward, to allocate funding, and most importantly, to implement bringing better services and resources to Tucsonans,β she said.
This implementation, however will have to be supplemented, mainly through a half-cent sales voters are set to decide in March.
Proposition 414, the ballot measure dubbed βA Safe & Vibrant Cityβ would raise the cityβs sales tax from 8.7% to 9.2%. It is projected to raise about $80 million a year if approved by voters. The higher tax rate would last 10 years.
If passed, it would help pay to hire more police officers and firefighters, as well as updated equipment for first-responders. But funding would also be allocated to improve Tucsonβs affordable housing through assistance programs for homeowners and renters, flesh out workforce development and neighborhood improvements.
Romero said passage of the tax plan is critical to assisting programs that address Tucsonβs crises issues, which include housing, the climate, homelessness, aging infrastructure and drugs, particularly fentanyl.
βWhile we are investing in housing resources and services for our residents, we are also investing in our police, fire and 911, communications departments at unprecedented levels . . . Replacing aging vehicles and apparatus, updating the technologies that keep us and our first responders safe means that our public safety team can better serve Tucsonans,β Romero said. βThis proactive, collaborative approach enhances our ability to detect and respond swiftly to threats, improving overall community safety and reducing the likelihood of unexpected events like just occurred in Las Vegas and New Orleans.β
Tucsonans will also be casting their ballots for Plan Tucson, the cityβs 20-year general plan that will guide the cityβs βfuture policies and investments,β Romero said, which comes to a vote in November. It is in a public review period and a preliminary draft plan is available.
