The cash-strapped city of South Tucson is expected to hire a new city manager and city attorney Monday, marking a big change in leadership after the election of new council members in November.
Filling the two upper-management positions comes at a time when the 1-square-mile city is struggling financially, with officials telling the previous council last year the city would have to consider layoffs or even eliminate a department if voters did not back a proposed increase in the cityโs rental tax.
The tax proposal never materialized, with the previous council opting not to put it on the ballot.
Contracts for the city manager and city attorney positions were not available Friday, nor were the names of the people expected to be hired.
The new city manager would replace City Clerk Veronica Moreno, who also serves as the head of the cityโs human resources department. The city attorney position has been vacant since December.
Moreno, essentially working three positions made $78,079 in 2016, making her the cityโs highest-paid employee. Police Chief Michael Ford, who goes out on street patrols in addition to administrative duties, earned $69,530, records show.
The city has lost several revenue streams in the past few years, stopping the collection of an occupational tax on residential properties last year, and eliminating in 2014 a secondary property tax that never got voter approval as required under state law.
South Tucson also lost residential garbage service in 2015 after Waste Management severed ties with the city in a dispute over $300,000 in an unpaid bill related to residential garbage collection. The council approved a $140,000 settlement with the private hauler last year.
City officials believe sales tax collections are down inside the city, indicating the drop could be a result of a new Walmart near Interstate 10 and South Park Avenue that is not inside the city limits.
