Play the video above to see these stories on AZ Illustrated Politics for Friday, Feb. 7 with guests Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias, Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik, and Tim Steller, Arizona Daily Star columnist:
ROSEMONT MINE: This week, the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted to file a formal objection to the U.S. Forest Service’s proposal to allow Rosemont Copper to dig an open-pit mine in the Santa Rita Mountains. Elias said the county had many objections regarding impacts to air and water quality, increases to traffic on rural highways in the area and impacts to tourism, among others. Steller said that opponents of the mine still had options to try to stop or delay it, but they had a tough battle ahead.
ALLOWING GREEN VALLEY AND SAHUARITA TO JOIN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: State Sen. Gail Griffin (R-Dist. 14) has proposed legislation that would allow residents of the Green Valley and Sahuarita area to secede to Santa Cruz County. Kozachik pointed out that the proposal would also move the Rosemont Mine area to Santa Cruz County and called it a political effort to help the Rosemont Mine avoid scrutiny from Pima County. Elias said that there were many public investments in the area that Pima County had funded, including libraries and parks, that Santa Cruz County would have to reimburse Pima County for.
CITY DEFICIT: The city of Tucson is facing a $33 million deficit. Kozachik said the deficit was structural in nature, as the city’s costs continue to outrun the incoming tax revenues. He warned that layoffs might be in the future. Elias said that the county, which is funded primarily through property taxes, was not facing a similar financial problem.
CITY-COUNTY COOPERATION: The city and county recently had a dispute over underground pipeline work that resulted as a result of plans for this spring’s Fourth Avenue Street Fair and testing of downtown’s modern streetcar. Kozachik suggested that the city and county should meet together more often and both elected officials said that the two bodies cooperate more often than they disagree
AZ Illustrated Politics is produced by Jim Nintzel. Contact him at jnintzel@azpm.org.
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