The city’s proposed half-cent sales tax increase would add a nickel to a $10 lunch tab.
On Tuesday night, the Tucson City Council will discuss how long residents would be paying more for dining out, gasoline and other taxable items.
One proposal outlined by City Manager Michael Ortega would sunset the proposed tax increase designed to fix roads and buy new equipment for the Fire and Police departments after five years.
But council members are openly discussing extending it for even longer or making the tax increase permanent.
The council is also expected to discuss how to allocate the estimated $50 million in revenues generated by the increase, which is being proposed for the May ballot.
Councilman Steve Kozachik wants to split the revenue evenly between road repairs and new capital for the Police and Fire departments.
The Ward 6 councilman said while there are needs for both departments, the community continues to ask for more investments into roads.
Additionally, the council will also discuss how much of the revenue will go to main roads versus smaller, neighborhood streets.
Under one draft of the plan, 65 percent of funds would be dedicated to main streets with high traffic and the remaining 35 percent would go to neighborhood roads. Mayor Jonathan Rothschild believes the discussion will focus on the streets.
“My hunch is that the discussion will focus on the duration of the proposed tax and the allocation split between residential and arterial streets, as well as possibly some questions about specific capital needs,” Rothschild said.
He acknowledges there is some disagreement on details of how the revenue would be spent.
“I am looking forward to hearing the different council members’ perspectives and, most importantly, developing a consensus that gives voters the ability to invest in Tucson,” he said.
Councilman Paul Cunningham said the proposal will focus on what kind of service levels residents are willing to pay for.
“The capital needs for our city are incredible. Every department needs help.
“Unfortunately, the timing for a sales tax increase couldn’t be worse. We need to ask the voters what kind of city they want,” Cunningham said.
