Budget includes road recovery plan that raises $19.5 million for Countywide road repairs in first year
PIMA COUNTY – The Pima County Board of Supervisors approved the final Fiscal Year 2017-2018 budget on Tuesday, June 20 by a 3-2 vote.
The budget for Fiscal 2017-2018 totals $1,267,072,355 with a combined primary and secondary property tax rate of $5.9784 per $100 of assessed value. The combined property tax rate for Fiscal 2018 represents a 14-cent increase over the current year, which includes a Pavement Preservation, Roadway Surfacing and Repair Plan funded through a 25-cent primary property tax specified for roads.
To minimize the tax impact of the Pavement Preservation, Roadway Surfacing and Repair Plan, the Board approved reductions to existing primary and secondary property tax rates. Combined, reductions to the primary, Regional Flood Control and Library District property taxes totaled 11-cents.
Tax rates for Fiscal Year 2018 are as follows:
- Primary (General Fund) - $4.2096
- Primary (Roads) - $0.2500
- Regional Flood Control – $0.3135
- Library - $0.5053
- Debt Service - $0.7000
- Total - $5.9784
The 25-cent primary property tax to fund the Pavement Preservation, Roadway Surfacing and Repair Plan would raise $19.5 million in property tax revenue in the first year. County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry has proposed the tax remain for five years to raise $100 million for road repairs. After the first year, the plan is intended to be tax neutral, with the 25-cent tax rate offset each year by additional decreases in the primary property tax rate.
The Pavement Preservation, Roadway Surfacing and Repair Plan will fund repairs for neighborhood and local roads throughout the County, including incorporated areas. The property tax for funding local road repairs will be divided in two ways for next year.
The first portion, called base funding, will come from 11 cents of the new special tax rate and raise about $8.6 million. This portion would be offset by reductions to the primary, Regional Flood Control and Library Districts property tax rates.
The $8.6 million in base funding will be distributed based on the following formula:
- Distributed equally according to the assessed value of all County jurisdictions
- The County’s portion of assessed value will be divided by miles of roads in each supervisory district
- The municipalities will receive a share determined by the percent of population of the portion of each supervisory district in each city or town.
The remaining 14-cents of the new 25-cent property tax will fund the second portion, called accelerated funding, and raise about $10.9 million.
The $10.9 million accelerated funding portion will be divided by percentage of assessed value of each jurisdiction, with specific project allocations determined by the Board of Supervisors and, once empaneled, the new Transportation Advisory Committee.
Each member of the Board of Supervisors will have two appointees to the Transportation Advisory Committee and the County Administrator will have three appointees.
Expenditures from both portions of the property tax will be reserved for funding pavement preservation and road repair of local and neighborhood streets.
The 14-cent increase to the primary property tax would equal an additional $18 dollars in annual taxes for the owner of a $131,899 home, which is the median-valued home in Pima County.
The 2018 Fiscal Year begins July 1.