As I write this column, we have just learned of the serious bicycling accident that Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry was involved in. Hearing only a very little bit of the details, we can gain confidence in knowing that he is in very good hands and care. Even though we feel anxious about his hospitalization, we are praying for his speedy and complete recovery, and that his family be surrounded with strength, comfort and peace. I ask all of you to join me in reflecting upon Mr. Huckelberry’s return to full health as quickly as possible.
One of the main issues, if not the main issue, that I ran for election in 2016 was to “Just Fix the Roads.” After numerous starts and stops, and a lot of controversy, we are beginning to see the real fruits of our labors and efforts. In 2019, the Board of Supervisors approved its aggressive and historic “PAYGO” Road Repair Plan unanimously, and upgrades and enhancements have been made to the plan since its inception. The plan calls for all roads in unincorporated Pima County to be repaired and rehabilitated in an accelerated manner over the next several years. We are now in year two of the PAYGO Road Repair Plan and for the 2021/2022 period, our Southeast Region will have more than 27 miles of major roads and almost 11 miles of our neighborhood roads repaired. This is great news and we have to give our Southeast Regional Council a great deal of credit, along with our thanks and praise. If you want to see a listing of the roads scheduled for repair in our Southeast Region, visit our website at pima.gov, Board of Supervisors, Steve Christy.
The City of Tucson’s initiative to raise water rates for its customers in unincorporated Pima County has taken another turn in this ever-twisting saga. On October 21, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry sent to the Board of Supervisors a memorandum entitled, “Litigation Options Associated with the City of Tucson Adoption of Differential Water Rates.” With the memo, Mr. Huckelberry transmitted a memorandum to the Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association from Mr. Thomas J. Bourassa, CPA, who was retained by SAHBA to review the City of Tucson’s methodology associated with adopting differential water rates. Mr. Bourassa’s analysis sounds similar to all of the analyses conducted by County staff.
To quote a couple of the more salient points in Mr. Bourassa’s analysis, he states, “While a higher charge for utility service to Outside City Customers is allowed, they must be justified by actual cost differences and cannot be simply policy considerations.” Since no effort to determine actual cost differences was ever made by the City before initiating the increased water rates, it is safe to assume that the City’s actions were “simply policy considerations”.
Mr. Bourassa’s report goes on to convey, “A claim that the City of Tucson General Fund “backstops” the City’s water enterprise fund and therefore faces greater risk as an “owner” has little merit under the circumstances. The (City’s) general fund does not backstop the financial needs of the enterprise fund.” City of Tucson Council Member Paul Cunningham has been quoted using the term “backstop” and has stated that his desire to increase the rates is a “policy decision”. I wonder if Council Member Cunningham has had time to read Mr. Bourassa’s report. As I originally predicted, this will end up in litigation and, as I also have predicted and will predict again, we will prevail.
Frequently, I am asked when the Board of Supervisors meets and how to watch the meetings. Regular meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m. Live proceedings can be found on channel 96 of both Cox and Comcast, on Pima County’s Facebook page, and on Pima County’s website (pima.gov, Board of Supervisors, Live Meeting Broadcast). Please call my office with any questions, 520-724-8094.
And, oh yes, I love being your Supervisor.
