Which roads will be repaired with these bonds?
Pima County will share bond proceeds with cities and towns and will require each city and town to provide a plan for spending them, as well as to provide annual lists of roads that will be repaired. If you live within a city or town, please contact your city or town’s Transportation Department for more information.
If you live in unincorporated Pima County, the County’s goal is to fully repair and preserve all 1,891 miles of paved County-maintained roads within 10 years, and per the bond implementation plan, the County’s share of bond proceeds will be spent on repairing the worst of these roads over the first five years. The County regularly assesses roadway conditions and assigns a PASER rating to each roadway. Ratings run from 1-10, with 1 being a failed road and 10 being a very good road. Approximately 70 percent of the County-maintained road miles are in poor or failed condition. PASER 1s will be repaired first, then PASER 2s and so on, until the County’s share of the bond proceeds are exhausted. To look up the pavement condition of roads in unincorporated Pima County, visit this interactive map.
How soon will the roads be repaired if voters approve the bond proposition?
Since the funds can only be used to reconstruct, repair or preserve existing roads, no land acquisition, design or engineering is necessary. Therefore the work can begin quickly.
How much will cities and towns receive in comparison to unincorporated Pima County?
Bond proceeds will be shared with cities and towns based on their share of the County’s total population and value of taxable property. City of Tucson ($200 million), unincorporated Pima County ($167 million), Marana ($26 million), Oro Valley ($23 million), Sahuarita ($12 million), South Tucson ($1.8 million).
Why can’t the County use existing funds to repair the roads?
The County, like other Arizona local governments, relies on State-shared transportation revenues to fund transportation expenses. But these revenues are inadequate to fund all of the County’s transportation needs. The main source for these revenues is the State gas tax, which has not been increased in 27 years. In addition, the State continues to sweep some of these funds for other purposes. The County has exhausted every other available option for securing additional funding for road repair and this bond election is the last opportunity to fix the roads in a reasonable timeframe.
Can bond proceeds be used for items not included in the ballot language?
No.
Will my County secondary property tax rate increase if voters approve this bond proposition?
No. While Arizona Revised Statutes require the County to make a disclosure that the issuance of these bonds will result in a property tax increase sufficient to pay the annual debt service on these bonds, the County intends to structure issuance and repayment of the bonds in a manner that keeps the secondary property rate at its current level.
Have there been any independent audits of the County’s bond programs and transportation?
Yes. A 2013 audit of the County’s general obligation bond programs by the State Auditor General’s office concluded that “The County spent the proceeds in accordance with the voter-authorized purposes” and “Bond projects benefited citizens throughout Pima County.” The State Auditor General is also required annually to audit financial transactions and accounts for all Arizona counties, including the use of state-shared transportation revenues for authorized transportation purposes.
What was the County’s most recent credit rating for general obligation bonds?
In March 2018 the Fitch rating agency assigned a “AAA” credit rating to the County’s general obligation bonds, which is the highest possible rating. Rating agency reports cite the County’s “aggressive debt amortization schedule,” “strong debt and liability position,” “low” long-term liability burden “comprised of overall debt and net pension liabilities,” and “strong management, with good financial policies and practices.”