On August 31, the League of Women Voters scheduled a debate between my opponent, Steve Spain and me. Both of us confirmed our attendance. Just minutes before the debate’s start time, Mr. Spain informed the debate organizers that he was bowing out.
That same day, Mr. Spain’s campaign team was putting up road signs throughout the district that falsely claimed Pima County was engaging in “deficit” spending. Some of the signs provocatively display the word “bankrupt.” Others use bogus figures concocted by Mr. Spain and his supporters.
Other than the protection of public health and safety, there is no more vital task for the Board of Supervisors than the budgetary and fiscal decisions we make. Anyone seeking this office should approach these matters with maturity and seriousness. Let’s look at the facts:
Counties in Arizona are subdivisions of the state and must comply with statute in all areas, including our budgets. One such law (ARS 42-17151) prohibits counties from adopting budgets with deficits. Pima County has never failed to comply with that statute.
Mr. Spain points out that county expenditures went up during this Board’s tenure, especially in the 2021-22 fiscal year. That was the second fiscal year affected by the costs we bore in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Counties in our state are the public health authorities for their regions and each one sustained great costs in taking on tasks such as testing and vaccination.
It was abundantly clear from the erroneous claims made by Mr. Spain that he overlooked (or didn’t look into) the fact that Pima County, like all local and state governments in the country, had been the recipient of millions of dollars in federal funds needed to respond to the challenges of the greatest public health crisis in a century. We used that money, appropriated in both the Trump and Biden Administrations, to pay for the extraordinary costs associated with the pandemic response. They were also used to pay for other one-time costs as approved under federal laws and regulations.
There are no “deficits,” but all governments use both voter-approved debt and debt approved by their governing bodies to cover various needs. This is a necessity in Arizona given the expenditure limits written into our state constitution. In Pima County, we ensure that our debt is paid off quickly. To that point, our financial plans include a payoff strategy that will reduce our overall debt by 56% by the end of the 2027-28 fiscal year. The strong ratings we have earned stem from the fact that we pay off most debt within 15 years, a much shorter timeframe than most other governments.
A recent example of how we make prudent use of debt occurred in our September 3 meeting. Our annual budget included plans to issue up to $40 million in Certificates of Participation and $55 million in Sewer Revenue Debt, both forms of short-term debt. The budget also includes $148.7 million for principal repayment on our various debts.
The Board voted unanimously, including our Republican colleague, to approve these new issuances. The Sewer Revenue Debt is used for capital improvements throughout our system. The Certificates of Participation have been used for projects such as the new Office of the Medical Examiner, the San Xavier Sheriff Substation, and to increase the funds devoted to road repair and maintenance.
All budget documents are available on our website. There is also a page devoted to how we have made use of federal pandemic relief funds. What is clear from Mr. Spain’s assertions is that he cherry-picked data from certain pages on the county website to construct a false, misleading narrative.
Posting signs that make reckless use of terms such as “bankrupt” and “deficit” in an attempt to fool voters and demean the county he seeks to serve is irresponsible. Mr. Spain’s actions not only speak to how he chooses to conduct his campaign, but also says a lot about how he would approach the duties of this office.
It is unfortunate that Mr. Spain was unable to participate in our debate, but given the half-truths and lies he is plastering all over our district, it is also not surprising. Our constituents are smarter than he thinks.