Tucson voters weigh half-cent sale tax hike for public safety, community programs
It's election day in Tucson and voters are set to weigh in on a half-cent sales tax increase that would raise some $800 million over 10 years to fund public safety and community investment.
Polls opened a 6 a.m. and are set to close at 7 p.m. in the all-mail special election. As of Monday, roughly 72,000 of the 305,000 ballots had already been returned.
Proposition 414, the Safe & Vibrant City ballot measure asked Tucsonans to vote on raising the city's sales tax from 2.6% to 3.1%. City officials tout the measure as an effort to fund critical services following a statewide change in income tax policy that decreased the money the city receives from the state.
Of the annual revenue projected to be brought in by the tax:
$52 million would go toward police and fire departments
$14 million would go to affordable housing programs, shelters, and courts
$13.4 million would go to community and justice-related programs
Critics argued that with roughly two-thirds of the tax dollars going to public safety instead of housing and community investment, the allocations of tax dollars do not reflect the values of Tucsonans.
Supporters said say the $800 million over ten years would help pay for critical services like housing, police and fire, which have become more expensive to run.
One supporter of the measure is former state Sen. Kristen Engel. The Tucson Democrat lost against U.S Congressman Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., in the 6th congressional district race in November.
'Folks, we need to get off the fence and face the reality that passing Prop. 414 is necessary if we want the level of police, fire and shelter services we expect and which will maintain our reputation as a top destination to live, work, retire and recreate,' Engel posted on X.
Critics argued that with roughly two-thirds of the tax dollars going to public safety, instead of housing and community investment, the allocations of tax dollars do not reflect the values of Tucsonans.
The Southern Arizona Leadership Council, a coalition of business leaders and executives, opposed the measure. Although the group said it supports properly funding public safety, it underscored the concern that the measure 'perpetuates the structural budget challenges that have left our chartered priorities underfunded," the group said in a press release.
Interest groups spent over $300,000 on campaign in support of and against Proposition 414, according to filings with the Tucson and the Arizona Secretary of State.
Yes on Prop 414: Safe and Vibrant City, a group backing the measure, reported spending $151,351 from Jan. 1 to Feb. 22. Among the large contributions to Yes on Prop 414 was a $10,000 boost from Fletcher McCusker, the CEO of UAVenture Capital and the chair of Rio Nuevo, a special taxing district focused on urban development. Other contributors included city Councilmember Kevin Dahl and Tucson Electric Power executive Cynthia Garcia, among others.
The Tucson Metro Chamber PAC which opposed the measure, spent $179,970 on ballot measure expenditures including yard signs, attorney fees, fliers, social media management, and ads, among other expenditures. Some contributors included the Tucson Association of Realtors which contributed $25,000 and the Pima County Automobile Dealers Association which contributed $50,000.
Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. The Republic's coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Proposition 414: Tucson voters weigh fate of half-cent sale tax hike
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