DALLAS - Pima County Supervisors in Tucson, Ariz., today will consider delaying a $1.2 billion bond election planned for November as the county and the city struggle to complete a joint courthouse project funded by a 2004 bond issue.
County administrator Chuck Huckelberry has proposed delaying the upcoming bond election by at least a year, citing a deteriorating economy that could affect the county's ability to pay down its debt. The Pima County Bond Advisory Committee, which drew up the proposals for the bond issue, voted June 11 to recommend a delay amid growing fears that the measures would be rejected.
The committee has met 11 times over the past year, whittling the wish list of projects from $3.2 billion to $1.9 billion. Further cuts up to $800 million were pending. The remaining proposals cover a wide array of projects, from water and sewer to parks, libraries, open space, and public housing. In proposing the delay, the advisory committee acknowledged the urgency of the projects, particularly water and sewer. But they did not see the delay as overly harmful.
"Even if voters were to authorize bond funding at a November 2008 election, the bonds could not be sold until 2010 or 2011, and projects could not be constructed until after this time," a letter from Bond Advisory Committee chairman Larry Hecker and vice chairwoman Carolyn Campbell said. "Therefore, holding a bond election in 2008, versus 2009, does not speed up the time in which projects would be delivered to the public. The deteriorating economy not only impacts the county's ability to pay off debt for such projects, but likely impacts voter confidence."
The letter also cited the "crowded" ballot headed by the presidential election pitting Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona against Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. That election is expected to produce record turnout, with economic issues the top voter concern.
Under a new law that bans special elections for bond issues and referendums, the earliest the next election could be held would be November 2009 if the supervisors agree to the delay. The advisory committee supports that date.
The law passed last year was designed to prevent local governments pitching bond packages during special May elections. Voter turnout in May is typically lower than November, making passage of bonds easier.
Meanwhile, officials from Pima County and Tucson are also delaying completion of a city-county court complex because of soaring construction costs.
Work was suspended indefinitely in June because of a $109 million shortfall between the remainder of a $76 million bond package passed in 2004 and the estimated $155 million in construction costs.
Huckelberry is laying out options that include building the complex in phases, new financing arrangements to cover the shortfall, proposal of additional bonds that would need voter approval, or cutting back on the courthouse plans.
A June 13 memo from county facilities management director Reid Spaulding said $20 million has been spent on land acquisition, archaeological remediation of a historic graveyard at the site, consultant fees, and utility relocations. About $10 million more is needed in archaeological work, according to the memo.
The memo says that the remaining $46 million in bond funds could be used to build about 150,000 square feet of the courthouse, which is designed to be around 413,000 square feet.
In addition to the 2004 authorization, Pima County won voter approval in May 2006 of $54 million in general obligation bonds for a psychiatric hospital and critical care center. The facilities are under design.
