The system could cost $300,000 each year for maintenance and new federal programs could make it virtually obsolete.
Sam Kmack
Local government reporter
For Star subscribers: Officials will have to decide soon whether to nix transit fares forever.
Ballots for the transportation-funding initiative are out to voters. Also, Brnovich fundraises off of election report and there's a new candidate in CD 6.
Sun Tran, Tucson's public transit operator, announced the policy change on Tuesday.
For Star subscribers: The report highlights dozens of successes and shortcomings of the Regional Transportation Authority’s work, but a $150 million funding shortfall continues to cast a shadow over the program and threaten the future of major road work in Tucson.
For Star subscribers: Sam Credio will have to find a way finish hundreds of miles of repaving and work to boost the city’s road-work funding by 50% — during his first year.
City officials blame limited staffing as one of the reasons the ordinance, passed in 1997, is not being enforced now.
For Star subscribers: A recent city study showed that fewer than 30 residents said they’re taking advantage of the decade-old initiative to re-use some of their household water for landscaping. The program pays homeowners up to $1,000 to purchase needed equipment.
About a fifth of the $10.1 million in grant money has yet to be committed to organizations because of a lack of qualified applicants.