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Greetings,
I am very pleased to announce that at the January 13th Board of Supervisors meeting, all 4 of my fellow Supervisors finally decided to join me and vote to end the practice of allowing Supervisors to donate to their favorite charities.
As I originally brought this issue before the board in September, I was the only Supervisor to vote against using your tax dollars in this way. I then contacted the Goldwater Institute who sent a letter to the Board citing they would pursue legal action if the Board did not vote to change policy due to a violation of the Arizona Constitution's gift clause. While the Board had another opportunity to put an end to this in October, I again was the only Supervisor who voted to follow the recommendation of Goldwater.
With a unanimous vote at the January 13th meeting, it was very apparent that with the amount of media attention, Goldwater's involvement and most of all - pressure from the public who attended meetings, Supervisors Carroll, Elias, Bronson and Valadez finally made the right choice to end this allocation of monies from their office budgets.
Click here to watch the discussion and vote from the meeting and see the chart below which highlights some examples of how Supervisors Elias and Bronson used your tax dollars
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Date
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Supervisor
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Amount
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Organization Name
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Purpose
| | 28-Sep | Elias | $800 | Eckstrom Golf Tournament | Sponsored a foursome for $800 | | 13-Oct | Elias | $600 | NAACP Event | Purchased a table | | 9-Nov | Elias | $1,000 | Tucson-Mexico Sister Cities Celebration | Bought 10 tickets for a table at event | | 15-Nov | Elias | $400 | Chicanos Por La Causa | Christmas Party Event | | 13-Jan | Elias | $900 | Planned Parenthood | Paid for a Table of 12 (and attended) at "I stand with Planned Parenthood Event". Attendee list not provided | | 13-Feb | Elias | $1,000 | Tucson Pima Arts Council Event | Sponsorship - Facebook mention, website mention 10 tickets to VIP reception, Table host recognition and 10 drink tickets | | 13-Jul | Elias | $1,250 | Wingspan EVENT | Sponsored a table of 10 - Advertising on program, website and emails | | 13-Oct | Elias | $1,000 | HOPE CAREER EXPO | Paid $1000 to sponsor and got to be the Keynote Speaker. | | 14-Feb | Elias | $1,500 | Planned Parenthood | Purchased 2 Tables to the ROE V WADE Luncheon-(Part time Elias Staffer is on the Board of Directors and paperwork was sent to his attention) | | | | | | | | Date | Supervisor | Amount | Organization Name | Purpose | | 13-Jun | Bronson | $1,000 | Tucson Trap & Skeet Club | Sponsorship of Tucson Trap & Skeet Club including a sign with her name displayed at clubhouse entrance and lesson for 2 | | 13-Aug | Bronson | $2,000 | Robles Ranch Community Center | Donation because they sent an email saying people were frustrated with lights in a park and that they had mentioned calling her office | | 13-Aug | Bronson | $1,000 | AIDSWALK | AIDSWALK Sponsor-Name Recognition | | 14-Jun | Bronson | $1,000 | Friends of Robles Ranch | Sponsorship of a Community Festival at 3 Points | | Jun-12 | Bronson | $500 | Limberlost Neighborhood Association | For a recognition plaque for people who made park improvements at a park | | Aug-12 | Bronson | $750 | Flowing Wells Dance Company | Donation |
The Board also voted (last Tuesday) to approve an agreement which provides a tax incentive to Homegoods, a division of TJX Companies Inc. The home accessories store is planning to open a West Coast distribution center near Tucson International Airport. The deal will initially create 400 new jobs and roughly 900 total jobs over the next 15 years. In order to retain the tax break, Homegoods would need to offer and pay for the majority of employee health and dental insurance premiums. If everything goes as planned, Pima County is estimating an economic impact of roughly $900 million from the development. My recent Op-Ed in the Green Valley News provides more detail from Tuesday's meeting, click here for more information.
While I will continue to be a steward of your tax dollars, I am working to find reasonable solutions to the problems we continue to be challenged with in our region. From a $300 million road repair problem to the impact of funding cuts we could face from the State Legislature, I am actively meeting with our Legislators to make them aware of our needs, right here in Pima County.
Thank you to all of you who have been attending and actively participating in the Board meetings; the results of the January 13th meeting show that your voice can and will be heard.
Sincerely,
Ally Miller
Supervisor, District 1
Pima County Board of Supervisors
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