A document detailing the 99 proposed projects on the November ballot was approved Tuesday by the Pima County Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor Ally Miller cast the sole vote in opposition to the bond implementation plan, in accord with her stated opposition to the bond proposal.
County voters will be asked to approve a seven-question, $815 million bond package in November. The package includes road construction, road repair, new parks, workforce training, tourism promotion and other projects.
Miller questioned County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry about details of the 180-page document, including what recourse the county would have against the many nonprofit groups that would receive bond funds to make improvements to tourism attractions.
“So we really don’t have any teeth in these contracts,” Miller said.
Huckelberry explained that tourism site operators that would receive bond funding, like the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Pima Air and Space Museum, Colossal Cave Mountain Park and other attractions, have contractual obligations with the county and operate on publicly owned properties.
He suggested an easy fix if any contractor doesn’t meet the obligations they agreed to.
“We can terminate their lease,” he said.
Miller also asked about the $200 million roads portion of the bond proposal, which provides $160 million toward regional road repairs.
Miller asked why the specific type of road treatments that would be used were not included in the bond plan.
Huckelberry said the county plans to fund repairs in the first six years of the bond program. Details of the specific method of repairs were left out, he said, because the needs could change between now and the time repairs are initiated.
In the case of the city of Tucson, Huckelberry told the Arizona Daily Star that city officials asked that their projects be funded after the first five years because the city is in the process of repairing streets through its $100 million road-repair bond program.
PACC DONATIONS
Supervisors unanimously approved two donations to the Pima Animal Care Center, one a southeast-side house and the other a $1.3 million endowment.
The Ella Jane Burson estate gave PACC the $1.3 million, and the Marilynn Louise Rasmussen estate donated the house, which has an assessed value of $73,780. Supervisor Ray Carroll thanked the donors’ families for the gifts.
“When you invest in public infrastructure, good things happen,” Carroll said.
The county likely will sell the house and use the proceeds, along with the $1.3 million, to fund general animal shelter operations and expand community outreach efforts.
PAYROLL PROBLEMS
Supervisors directed finance staffers to investigate and report on lingering problems with a county payroll system.
Supervisors heard from Pima County sheriff’s deputies, who said that problems with the payroll system called ADP, and particularly a mobile application that allows workers to clock in remotely, has caused numerous problems since implemented last year.
Deputies said the system will randomly clock them in and out and requires excessive time for supervisors to approve time-card changes.
Supervisor Sharon Bronson said county administration should have addressed the problem sooner.
“These issues should have been resolved, it should not have been brought to the board,” Bronson said.
County staffers plan to report to the board on the payroll issues at the Oct. 6 meeting.
