Transportation Advisory Committee to hold first meeting Aug. 1

Committee will recommend road repairs as part of 25-cent property tax, advise BOS on other transportation matters

PIMA COUNTY – The newly appointed Transportation Advisory Committee plans to hold its inaugural meeting, Tuesday, August 1.

The Transportation Advisory Committee’s role is to determine priorities for the dedicated road repair property tax the Board of Supervisors approved with the Fiscal Year 2018 budget. The Committee also will advise the board on the overall transportation budget, transportation infrastructure, capital improvements and transportation policy.

The Transportation Advisory Committee was conceived during the Fiscal Year 2018 budget discussions earlier this year, as the Board of Supervisors looked for solutions to the region’s longstanding roadway funding problems after years of static state funding.

In lieu of additional state support for transportation efforts, which local governments have relied on to fund new construction and ongoing maintenance since the statewide Highway User Revenue Fund (gas tax) was created in 1974, the Board of Supervisors chose to adopt a separate 25-cent primary property tax reserved for local road repairs.

The initial year’s collection of road-repair tax will draw $19.5 million, which will be divided proportionally among the unincorporated areas and five municipalities. County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry has proposed the tax remain in place for five budget years, which would raise more than $100 million for road repairs.

Based on the assessed value in each area, the tax will be apportioned as follows:

• Pima County – 41.94 percent
• Tucson – 41.19
• Oro Valley – 7.58 percent
• Marana – 6.25
• Sahuarita – 2.75
• South Tucson – 0.27

The Transportation Advisory Committee has 13 members. Each Board member has two appointees and the County Administrator three appointees.

To date, the Board of Supervisors has approved the following Committee members:
District 2
Dan Eckstrom
Eric Ponce

District 3
Amber Smith
Rick Price

District 4
Lucretia Free
Sergio Arellano

District 5
Dan Castro
Bob Gugino

County Administrator
John Bernal
Tony Paez
Curtis Lueck

Committee recommendations will go to the Board for final approval. The Committee will accept the recommendations from its counterpart groups of councils in the cities and towns.

The Transportation Advisory Committee’s first meeting is planned for Tuesday, August 1 at 2 p.m. in the Abrams Public Health Center, 3950 S. Country Club Road. A meeting agenda can be found here.