About that Big Bloated Bond package: $815 million is the largest bond package ever in Pima County by 50 percent. Debt Service (interest) will be at least $350 million more at the lowest interest rates and could make the bonds’ actual costs $1.5 billion, according to dissenting members of the Bond Advisory Committee.
Maintenance and Operation costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars when projects are completed will be additional and the money has to come from somewhere.
Many areas, like Picture Rocks, already pay additional bond taxes, such as the $.67/$100 for a new firehouse on top of $3.25/$100 to maintain the department.
While there are certainly worthwhile projects and goals among the proposed projects, is it good public policy to build a new Y for the Fortune 500 companies in the UA Tech Park, or a new highway for Raytheon, which boasts annual profits in the billions? Are bonds really the way to fund road repairs? More repairs will be needed before the bonds are paid off.
And with wages low, schools underfunded and the economy uncertain, is this really the time to raise property taxes even more?
—Albert Lannon
Avra Valley Coalition
This article appears in Jul 2-8, 2015.
Luckily we can pick and choose which parts to approve.
I wouldn’t trust the county with $80 of my money, let alone $800 million. These people are nuts.
Please use money to fix roads in Tucson. Last I checked they were terrible.
My taxes just went up from 6 months ago, that does not even cover the Dog facility, now the County just increase our property taxes again, when it was not necessary. They keep taking land off the tax rolls, so the taxpayer can pay for it, so Bonds, this is ridiculous, no other County would do this. Perhaps Mr. Huckelberry, who is one of the highest paid Administrators, at $320,000 a year plus benefits, who could care less about we the taxpayers, is too old to do his job .
While they did break them in to seven bonds, you’re still choosing a lot of pork just to get t one item. Being able to truly pick and choose would have been line items rather than seven bond packages. They’ve packaged a lot of garbage in there around very few items worth raising taxes for. Paying for a YMCA that will charge for membership is definitely not one of them.
They should have done it last year but this is still the cheapest money we’ll see in 20 years.
Don’t fall for it. No more money for Corps and their friends at our expense.