Poor road conditions in the region can cause more than just aggravation.
Crumbling asphalt and potholes often cause both gradual and abrupt damage to cars.
An Arizona lawmaker wants to make county governments atone for the sinfully bad roads by making them pay, almost without question, any claim received from motorists who say pavement conditions caused damage to their cars.
“If Pima County was spending more money on fixing potholes than on other things, they probably wouldn’t ever have seen legislation like this cross my desk,” said Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley.
The bill, HB 2572, reads: “Any person whose vehicle is damaged from the county’s failure to maintain a roadway may apply to the county for reimbursement for the cost of the repair. The county shall reimburse the applicant within five days after receiving the application for reimbursement.”
Finchem said the idea behind the bill was to hold county governments to account for the money they receive from the state to fund transportation.
He said he doesn’t think Pima County has been responsible with how it spends Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) money and other state disbursements for roads.
“When Pima County sweeps what HURF funds it has from (Supervisor) District 1 and slaps around a supervisor who is trying to do what her constituents want her to do, that’s reprehensible,” Finchem said, referencing Supervisor Ally Miller.
In 2014, the board pulled more than $800,000 in road-repair funds earmarked for Miller’s district and spent it on road projects in other districts.
Despite the criticism, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said Finchem’s bill was just a diversionary tactic.
“I think it’s telling,” Huckelberry said. “It’s an excuse to do nothing in the face of overwhelming evidence of the crisis in transportation funding.”
Huckelberry has for several years advocated for the Legislature to increase the gas tax, which has remained at 18 cents per gallon since 1990.
Counties, cities and towns rely on the gas tax and vehicle license taxes to fund departments of transportation. In most cases, this money, which the state collects and redistributes to local governments, comprises nearly the entire local transportation budget.
Huckelberry and others have argued the current tax doesn’t provide enough funds for local governments to properly maintain roads. Last fiscal year, the county received more than $49.2 million between the two taxes.
State support for county transportation peaked in 2007 at $58.6 million.
Even if Finchem’s bill goes nowhere, which he said probably is the case at least for this legislative session, local governments already pay claims to motorists who can prove road conditions caused damage to their cars.
Most of the claims seek a few hundred dollars for flattened tires, bent wheels and broken shocks.
The county pays relatively few of these claims.
County documents show about 20 percent of claims are paid. In fiscal 2014, the county paid out $1,981 in total pothole-caused damage claims.
County Transportation Director Priscilla Cornelio said claims are not paid if a pothole or other road hazard that caused the damage wasn’t previously reported to the county.
While the chances of getting a payout from Pima County to cover car repairs are slim, it hasn’t stopped motorists from trying.
As of the beginning of March, at least 34 claims were filed with the county asking reimbursements for road-caused damage.
County officials estimate as many as 160 such claims could be filed by year’s end.
In all of 2014, 29 claims were filed. In 2013, 20 were filed.
If Finchem’s bill were to become law, county officials estimate they could pay out as much as $285,000 this year to motorists who claim potholes or other road hazards caused car damage.
Finchem said he’s considering a similar bill for next year.
Down the road
The Pima County Department of Transportation will begin paving four sections of roadway Monday and working through Friday, May 3.
- Work on Manville Road west of Reservation Road begins Monday, with work between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Crews will return the week of May 4 for final work.
- El Moraga Drive from Goret Road to Sweetwater Drive on Tuesday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Crews will conclude the work the week of May 4.
- Painted Hills from Ironwood Drive to Speedway on Wednesday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Crews will come back the week of May 4 to finalize.
- Anklam Road from Players Club to Speedway on Thursday and Friday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Crews return the week of May 4.
