This year, Pima County voters have an opportunity to approve seven bond measures being proposed by county government to fund many projects from road repairs to new investments for the county in one of the largest bond elections in Pima history. I am a newly registered voter, having just turned 18 late last year. I am opposed to all seven propositions and would like to tell you why.
There are many good projects and improvements in the Pima bonds. However, while we may get a short-term gain, in the long run, Pima County will continue to suffer.
Many projects will create jobs, but these jobs (like construction) are temporary and exist only until the completion of the projects. Also, the funding raised by the bonds does not take into account maintenance costs. When you build more roads or parks, you have to maintain them, and so far, I have not seen any proposals by Pima County to do so. In fact, many current parks and roads are in horrible condition. What good will all these new parks and roads do us if the county does not maintain them? The only way for the county to do so would be to either raise taxes even higher, or borrow even more, sparking a vicious cycle.
Pima County has $1.43 billion in debt, and if these bonds pass, would have an additional $1.6 billion added to our debt. Even with a total bond debt of more than $2 billion, we still havenβt calculated the costs of interest, operations and maintenance that go with these projects. Our bonds will not be paid off until 2043 at the earliest, and that figure does not take into account property value fluctuations and inflation.
If none of these bonds pass, our secondary tax rate will be reduced to zero by 2032.
When I hear those in favor of the bonds talking about how these projects will βinvest in Pima Countyβ and bring business back to Tucson, I disagree. While supplying funds to nonprofits like the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum may be intended to bolster tourism, these efforts will be moot as the rest of the county deteriorates.
When people visit attractions like the Desert Museum, they get a taste of Pima County, and in some circumstances tourists may be persuaded to rent property, if not buy a house and move here. Yet with our skyrocketing property taxes and horrible roads, few people will entertain that thought.
And while incubators like those in Oro Valley may be a good idea to try to grow a business, no business would consider Pima County a successful place to operate.
Until Pima County can show that it can maintain and repair what we have and work on being business and homeowner friendly through responsible fiscal policies that allow us to cut taxes, I believe we should vote βnoβ on all seven bonds.
Once our county becomes fiscally responsible again and pays off the debt we owe, then we can worry about building roads for tech parks and giving handouts to local nonprofits.
For more details on Pima Bonds, visit PimaBondFacts.com
