Board of Supervisors Addendum - Regular Meeting

Good evening.

Oh, yeah, that's working. All right. I love that it is the quiet in the audience that comes first, which indicates that it's time for us to start. So thank you all. We are going to start out with roll call. That's Supervisor Cano.

Present.

Supervisor Christie.

Here.

Supervisor Hines. Present. Supervisor Scott. Here. Chair Allen. Here. Let the record show Supervisor Christie is participating remotely. All other board members are present.

And now we are going to the Pledge of Allegiance. And Rick Madison will call. There you are. Is going to lead us today in the pledge.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

And moving on to item three, which is our land acknowledgement statement, which is going to be offered by Jenny Flynn. CEO from the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona.

Thank you, Chair Allen. So on behalf of Pima County residents, we honor the tribal nations who have served as caretakers of this land from time immemorial and respectfully acknowledge the ancestral homelands of the Thawnauthum Nation and the multi millennial presence of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe within Pima County. Consistent with Pima County's commitment to diversity and inclusion, we strive toward building equal partner relationships with Arizona's tribal nations.

Thank you. Anything you want to share about what's happening at the Community Foundation?

Sure, I would love that. I'll just be brief. I appreciate the opportunity to share the land acknowledgement. And just in case anyone's not familiar, the Community Foundation is the local foundation for southern Arizona, founded in 1980. and we aim to build a thriving southern Arizona through philanthropy. We support donors, nonprofits, and the community at large, and among the current community efforts we're supporting is something I think very important to all of you, which is the Community Coalition for Prosperity and Prosperity Initiative with space and thought partnership, and we also work together with your office on a nonprofit survey last year, and we plan to repeat that this fall. We love partnering with government and business and look forward to working together on future projects like how to address the crisis of loss of benefits in our community, which I know is a big one. And finally, as a civic backbone organization, we focus on solutions, such as through our Press Forward Southern Arizona chapter that aims to rebuild local news in southern Arizona as part of a national movement to do that in communities around the country. and we are working on developing solutions for local news sustainability at the city, county, and state level in Arizona, and I'd love to talk more with anyone who's interested about that. So thank you very much.

Thank you. Our next item is Paws for Paws, and I believe we have a little bundle of joy.

Oh, here we go.

Sorry, he is really cute and the audience is reacting. So this is Morgan and yes, he is adorable. He came to us as a stray. So I did want to take the time to remind everyone that this is pretty much Pax stray season, which we don't really get to slow down at the shelter until things kind of cool down, which as we all know is not for a while. So leading up to the 4th of July pack is super busy. We have a ton of events where people can get their pets microchipped for free or vaccinated. A couple of different vaccination events for the entire month of June. We're doing walk in microchips in certain time frames. You can get all that detail, all the details on all of these things. on our social media pages. So yeah, that's a good time to get your pets microchipped if they didn't come from pack and don't have one or get your pets up to date on their vaccines. And we also year round offer free pet identification tags because that is the most important thing you can have on your dog is the quickest way to get them to you. And we are going to be doing doggy dashing. for the 4th of July. If your pet has a pet tag on it and we can call you and contact you, they don't even have to come in the shelter. So we have all of those things in place to try to help get your pets back to you. So if your pets get lost, you know, we can get them right back to you. And I do want to mention that we have a lovely new facility on the east side of town Our EPAC just opened up, soft launch, so we are, you know, getting our feet underneath us. But we have folks who are coming in and adopting and I was there opening day and it was wonderful. It's really good to be on that side of town and to be with those constituents. And yeah, we're hoping to see that grow and that's been a great addition to try to help ease some of the crowding that we see this time of year. So it's a good time to adopt if you haven't. We encourage folks to check out our social media page to see all the free things that we have going on. It's really busy. And adopting Morgan there in your arms, free, right? Yes, yeah, free. As you can see, he is a lap dog. His notes say that he refuses to walk on a leash.

I know that shocks you, but...

He hasn't walked in the least since I got him. So yeah, he's perfect. Please come adopt him.

Someone take him home. Our next item, item five, is current events and public acknowledgment. Madam Chair. Supervisor Christie.

Thank you, Madam Chair. It is with great sadness that we share with you the loss of Linda Barber. She passed away peacefully at home, and she was surrounded by her family. For more than 50 years, Linda served as a precinct committeeman, dedicating countless hours to the Republican Party. During her many years of service, she also served as a state committeeman, chairman of the Pima County Republican Party, and President of the Pima County Republican Club. She was a trusted advisor to Republican leaders in Pima County and throughout Arizona. Linda's love for the party, her unwavering patriotism, and her deep love of country were ever evident in everything she did. Linda was a strong and patriotic voice, a tireless volunteer, and a cherished friend to many. She taught us to stand firm in our convictions, never give up, and always keep fighting for what we believe. Linda's contributions to our party and our community will be remembered. We are grateful for her service, leadership, and friendship, and our thoughts and prayers are with Linda's family. Madam Chair, could I please ask for a moment of silence in remembrance and respect for the passing of Linda Barber.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Chair Allen. Welcome, everyone, to your Board of Supervisors hearing room. This coming Saturday in District 5, we are proud to join forces with our Pima County Public Library to reopen the Richard Elias Mission Library with a ribbon-cutting at 9 a.m. The address is 3770 South Mission Road. We had an opportunity to see the newly renovated library just a few weeks ago for the soft opening. It's beautiful. It's almost double its original size and obviously near and dear to us in remembrance of a dear friend and colleague of this county, Supervisor Leah. So please join us. We're looking forward to a festive celebration. Ribbon cutting at 9, day-long activities up until 5 p.m. Thank you, Chair Allen. Supervisor Hines. Thank you.

I just learned this is more of a point of personal privilege, but I just learned that congratulations are in order for John Stuckey's son, Sam Stuckey, who just graduated from Northwest Fire Department Academy, their first class of the year. And it's just great to see that public service is clearly a family tradition. So congratulations to Sam.

Supervisor Scott.

thank you i was honored to be invited by staff from pima community college to be the keynote speaker at the adult basic education high school equivalency graduation ceremony at the linda ronstadt music hall last thursday and it was wonderful to see right around 30 people who had taken a variety of paths to get to achieving their high school equivalency certificate and was honored to be there to offer some keynote remarks and was also joined by Superintendent Dustin Williams, who comes to that event every year. And then two days after that, on June 6th, my understanding is that our colleague, Supervisor Hines, celebrated his birthday.

We can applaud him. Happy belated birthday, Supervisor Connell. Today marks the birthday of Ironwood Forest National Monument. I think last year we acknowledged June 9th as the 25th anniversary and birthday. But I just wanted to give a little plug in for the monument. I also wanted to plug the Juneteenth celebrations that are happening throughout the month. I will highlight two of them. There is on June 19th, the third annual Juneteenth Art Expo at the Drawing Studio at 2760 North Tucson Boulevard. And then there is a community-wide festival on Saturday, June 20th at the Keno Stadium. We will be there and hope to see many of you there as well. And then the last bit is that I just wanted to, I met with a group last week and the meeting has really stuck with me. It was with the Amphi Women and Girls Union. It is mostly teenagers, young women who are refugees from around the world who live in the Amphi neighborhood And they came to us with some great recommendations, things from neighborhood cleanup, trying to open up the Amphipark that has been closed, as well as just concerns about the family. And I think what has stuck with me, and this goes back to our conversation from the study session about the impacts of SNAP and access, It was a group of young women that carried with them the struggles of their family and concerns about loss of access to food stamps and the impacts that's having on their families who are already working multiple jobs and not seeing their mothers because of the amount that they're working. Anyway, I wanted to thank them for their stories and their incredibly important advocacy and look forward to working with them more in the future. With that, I will pass it to the clerk to go through agenda adjustments.

On the regular agenda under development services, this is page four, item 16B. This is a hearing rezoning time extensions. There's a correction to the address. It should say the property is located on the east side of Campbell Avenue, approximately one-fourth mile north of River Road. And then on page 5, item 20, under county administrator, this is the county supervisor's association presentation. The county administrator requests this item be removed from the agenda. It will be rescheduled later this year. Thank you.

We are moving on to item seven and to the section of a few presentations and proclamations. This is a presentation of proclamation to Matt McLone, Community Outreach Manager in Chelsea Peters, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, and Edward Buster, Chief of Security, Tucson Water, proclaiming the week of June 7th through 13th, Monsoon Safety Awareness Week. I'll move the item. Seconded by Supervisor Hines, discussion. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0. Supervisor Scott, would you like to present?

I'm going to read the proclamation and then introduce Mr. McGlone, and he can introduce all of his colleagues who are with him. And anybody who wants to say a few words is welcome to do so. Whereas the National Weather Service monitors severe weather and provides warnings to people within Pima County 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And whereas the National Weather Service works in close cooperation with the local media outlets to provide critical weather information as quickly as possible to protect lives and property from the hazards of severe weather. And whereas due to its location and geography, Pima County frequently experiences thunderstorm generated wind, dust, electrical storms, and dangerous flash floods during the summer monsoon, all of which pose a considerable threat to the community. And whereas public safety during the monsoon begins with teamwork between community partners and emergency responder agencies, who unite to promote flood safety awareness and advance the life-saving message of respect the storm, ready, set, monsoon. And whereas the National Weather Service works in conjunction with the Pima County Office of Emergency Management, Pima County Regional Flood Control District, Pima County Sheriff's Department, Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, municipal and tribal jurisdictional partners, American Red Cross and utility partners, as well as local media partners, volunteer organizations, and other federal and state agencies to inform the community about what to do when severe weather strikes during the monsoon. Now therefore be it resolved that the Pima County Board of Supervisors hereby proclaims the week of June 7 through June 13 2026 to be monsoon safety awareness week and encourages all citizens to acquaint themselves with severe weather safety information and to use these lifesaving recommendations to protect themselves and their families from the hazards that accompany the summer monsoon. Thank you and congratulations.

I will take that.

And if you want to say a few words and introduce who's here with you.

Thank you very much. My name is Matt McGloin. I'm with the Pima County Office of Emergency Management. We wanted, as well as all of our partners, some which couldn't be here today, to thank the Board of Supervisors for their support on obviously a very important part of our community. I could drone on, but everybody wants to hear about the monsoon, so I'm going to hand it off to our National Weather Service partners to give just a little peek into the monsoon season. Don't hold her to it. She was just attacked several times to give a how much rain are we going to get story. We kid gloves if we can. Chelsea, please. Yeah.

Chelsea Peters, National Weather Service Morning Coordination Meteorologist. Yeah, so a peek at the outlook. We don't like to hang our hats on much, but we are saying that there's a lean towards above normal precipitation. There is some climate drivers that help that, but there's a lot that goes into these outlooks. So it is a climate outlook. So it is the climate. The weather day-to-day is where we see our impacts and where we see our storms. Monsoon thunderstorms are very localized, so one neighborhood will see impacts and the other won't on the same day. So just keep that in the back of your mind. I'll touch on the big thing that's in the news right now. And so El Nino, Super El Nino, whatever superlative that you want to use that you've heard of, there is... minor correlation to its impacts on monsoon and it's primarily to the tropical influence that we could see particularly later in the season so that all kind of leans towards there could be more active tropical season and that may produce more widespread wetter precip again it's an outlook so We're hoping for more rain because we are in a drought, but hopefully no death or destruction. That's what my office says, but I'll pass it along for the others to introduce themselves.

J.D. Wallace with TEP. Basically, we want to remind people we have monsoon safety tips on TEP.com under our outages and safety tab on our website. Obviously, you want to be prepared for, you know, any sort of outage that might occur by having batteries, flashlight, clean water, non-perishable food. We like to say we're 99.9% reliable, but The monsoon can always decide to shake things up a little bit. And so if you see a downed power line or anything out of the ordinary or a tree branch on a power line, please be sure to stay away from that. Call 911. Thank you.

Thank you. Teresa Bravo with Tucson Electric Power. And I have nothing to add. I second what JD said.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be short and sweet opposite of me and just say... Drink water, drink lots and lots of water. Thank you. Oh, Ed Buster, Chief of Security City of Tucson, Tucson Water.

Thank you. Our next proclamation, I'm actually pulling it from the addendum agenda. It's addendum item number one. It is a presentation of a proclamation to Mia Hansen, Executive Director Southern Executive Director, Southern Arizona Adaptive Sports, recognizing her outstanding leadership, transformative advocacy, and enduring contributions to the community. I will move the item.

Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Hines. All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Item passes 5-0, and Supervisor Cano will be presenting.

Hi, Mia Hansen. It's an intimidating table, right? Well, it's a really lucky day to be able to celebrate an incredible person in our community. I'll let Mia hold this official proclamation while I read the text. You guys ready? Okay. It's long. All right. Whereas Mia Hansen has served as a visionary leader and executive director of Southern Arizona Adaptive Sports, dedicating her life to transforming the lives of individuals with physical disabilities through sports, recreation, and fitness. Whereas under her guidance, The Southern Arizona adaptive sports has expanded access to life-changing adaptive sports equipment and programs including wheelchair, basketball, tennis, hand cycling, power, soccer, and hiking trails, fostering a community of inclusion, resilience, and athletic excellence. Whereas, Mia Hansen has been a fierce advocate for accessibility and equity, breaking down societal and physical barriers to ensure that every individual in Pima County, regardless of ability, can experience the joy, health benefits, and camaraderie of competitive and recreational sports. Whereas under Mia Hansen's leadership, The Southern Arizona Adaptive Sports has established vital partnerships focused on integrating universal design, auditing trail access, and expanding outdoor recreation opportunities for visitors of alternative mobility needs at Saguaro National Park that in the future will extend to regional and local parks. Whereas her collaborative spirit has united athletes, community partners, volunteers, and national entities, firmly establishing Pima County as a premier hub for adaptive sports, inclusive community programming, and accessible public lands. And whereas her tireless dedication, passion, and profound impact have inspired countless residents to overcome adversity, discover their inner strength, and achieve their full potential both on the courts and on public lands. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Pima County Board of Supervisors hereby extends this official recognition to Mia Hansen for her outstanding leadership, transformative advocacy, and enduring contributions to the community passed and adopted this 9th day of June, 2026. Congratulations, Mia Hansen. Thank you. Thank you.

Whereas that was long and wonderful, Andres Cano, thank you so much. This is our team right here. I wouldn't be doing it if it weren't for everybody who's here and those who couldn't make it tonight because we're breaking those barriers, physical, idealistic, emotional, all the things that we have to get through every day. Sometimes it's not as easy if you're dealing with something else in your life. So I'm so proud that my team showed up. Thank you all team. We're proud to partner with Pima County. We're at the Keno Sports Complex with one of the largest adaptive cycling centers in the western states with over a 100 different adaptive hand cycles, trikes, bikes, tandems that people can use as part of a fitness and everyday lifestyle keeping people moving. Happy to partner with CAM and the Saguaro National Park. And we just had a meeting today with Coronado National Forest and the Arizona Parks. Everyone's jumping on board thanks to CAM's leadership and getting us to get more access to our public spaces. Isn't that what it's all about? We just want access. But, you know, we're here. We're participants. We're volunteers. We're board members. We're friends of Pima County and all of you who've come before, so thank you, everybody, and thank you, Andres, for this honor. Thank you, Board of Supervisors. Woo! Go Sass! Let's have the big photo here.

Thank you, Mia Hansen.

Our next presentation is also coming from the addendum agenda. It's addendum item number two, and this is a presentation of a proclamation to Brandon Gleason, epidemiologist, Tyler Backham, epidemiology program manager, Mark Person, community mental health and addiction program manager, and Andres Portela, health equity program manager, Pima County Health Department, proclaiming June 15th to the 21st to be Men's Health Week in Pima County. I move the item. Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 4-0. Yes, 4-0.

All right. Great. Whereas nationally, men have a life expectancy nearly six years shorter than women and experience higher rates of chronic disease, high blood pressure, and suicide, and whereas nearly one in three men in Arizona have not had a routine checkup with a doctor in the past year, increasing the risk that conditions may go undetected until they become serious, and whereas preventable injuries such as overdoses, falls, motor vehicle crashes, and drownings are the leading cause of early death among men in Pima County, and whereas suicide continues to disproportionately impact men in Pima County with men over 75 years of age experiencing the highest suicide rates, and whereas in the last six years, more than 2,000 men in Pima County lost their lives to drug overdoses representing nearly 75 percent of all overdose deaths locally, and whereas Men's Health Month is part of an ongoing national and international effort to educate men, boys, and their families about the importance of preventative health screenings and mental health support, healthy eating, exercise, and other lifestyle habits that improve quality of life and reduce the burden of disease and injury, and now therefore be it resolved, that the Pima County Board of Supervisors hereby proclaims June 15 through June 21, 2026 to be Men's Health Week in Pima County and encourages everyone to promote preventive care, regular screenings, and mental health support that make healthy choices more accessible. be it further resolved that the board affirms that seeking support for mental and physical health are signs of strength and responsibility, and that all residents of Pima County are invited to join efforts that reduce stigma, prevent avoidable loss, strengthen families and social connection, and support men and boys in living full, healthy, connected, and dignified lives. Passed and adopted this ninth day of June, 2026.

Thank you, Supervisor Hines. Thank you to the Board of Supervisors. I, on behalf of the Pima County Health Department, thank you all for recognizing men's health. I work with the statistics with the proclamation, and every statistic for all those health matters are on preventable health issues. We wish to encourage all men and boys that strength is being healthy, that there is strength in recognizing your mental and physical well-being, and the community will support you in doing so, that the board will support you in doing so, and the Pima County Health Department will support you in doing so. So thank you, the board, and thank you all.

I'll be brief. Andres Portela, Health Equity Program Manager. I just want to start by thanking you as well as the board. I do a lot of work with Resolution 2020-92, which is our resolution saying that race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic disparities are a public health crisis. talked a little bit about some of the disparities that were named. They are compounded by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomics. And so as I uplift that, I think about the space that I hold outside of my role, which is the village, a space in which black men can find a network to reduce social isolation on Instagram. So additionally, I would like to talk about the work that our community partners do. Groups like Boyz II Men who bring intergenerational masculinity to the forefront to reduce social isolation and also push men to be mentors within their community, as well as go to the doctor.

Afternoon, everybody. My name is Mark Person. I'm a public health program manager with the Health Department. A lot of the work that I do is in injury prevention, so certainly familiar with a lot of the statistics that you heard earlier here. Certainly an important topic, but beyond that, the Health Department does have a large team of folks that does this work on a daily basis, so I just really want to acknowledge. I know the four of us are standing up here accepting the proclamation today, but there is tireless amounts of work that multiple teams in the Health Department do on a daily basis, so I just want to acknowledge that as well.

Brandon Gleason, epidemiologist with the Pima County Health Department. Just like to echo what everyone has said and hopefully that this proclamation will help facilitate those conversations for all men with our community to engage with medical care and also be open about the mental health status that they are currently facing. So thank you.

You hold that and let's go this way just a little bit.

We are now going to move on to item number eight, which is call to the public. I always want to make sure that people have completed the correct card. If you're here for call to the public, it is the green card. If you are here for a hearing, it is a yellow card. And now I will read the rules and regulations for public guidelines for call to the public. Those attending the meeting shall observe rules of propriety, decorum, and good conduct. Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks or who become boisterous while addressing the board may be removed by the sergeant at arms if directed by the chair. Such person may be barred from further audience before the board. Unauthorized remarks from the audience, stamping of feet, whistling yells, and other similar demonstrations shall not be permitted by the chair who may direct defenders from the hearing room. We have five speakers today, which means that each speaker will get three minutes. I will call out the first three speakers. First will be Trista DiGenova, then it will be Lauren Hebert, and then Scott Crooksmer. And I believe Trista is telephonic. Are you there? Hello? Yes, we can hear you.

Great. Hi there, board. It's me, Teresa DeGenova, and Pima County, I am running as an independent District 5 Pima County supervisor, and also I'm a declared sheriff candidate for 2028. That is if we have elections. And I have, this is the 12th time that I have asked my supervisor, Tano, to respond to, in my case, for the return of my service dog, Dr. Baker, who was unlawfully seized by PAC and the Pima County Sheriff over two years ago now, and just to do your job far yet. You can send me the chat board. I have created a resolution. I sent this to you as well. And I also sent the board a couple of resolutions to remove Sheriff Nanos for this and other disastrous scandals that he has been part of. And it's not just a mistake on his resume. Anyway, here's a resolution for the return of my Dr. Baker. And I call on the board to do your job and help me get him back. Senator Mark Kelly told me that you have oversight over my case. So here we go. Resolution directing him back. to locate, account for, and return the service dog known as Dr. Baker to his owner, whereas the Pima County Board of Supervisors has reviewed evidence submitted by Trista DiGenova regarding the seizure and disposition of her service dog, Dr. Baker, and other animals removed from her custody during county enforcement actions. And by the way, I publish daily a 28-minute documentary about the perfect, blissful state of my entire prize-winning flock and my service animals. in the days before the raid, as well as watching The Detective, a four-part documentary that I'm submitting to film festivals, dissecting these Keystone Cops' misconduct. in my case. Anyway, whereas the board has reviewed extensive photographic evidence, video recordings, witness statements, and other materials concerning the condition and care for the animal prior to their seizure, which is on the documentaries that I publish every day, whereas the board finds that substantial questions exist regarding the legality and propriety of the seizure, retention, transfer, and disposition of Dr. Baker and the other animals, and whereas Dr. Baker was utilized as a service animal for disability-related purposes, and provided assistance and support to his owner. And by the way, it's a violation of ADA that you're not helping me get him back. Americans with Disabilities Act and all the people with disabilities in Pima County and with service dogs, you should write me in on November 6th for the general election. Whereas federal law, including the ADA, recognizes and protects the rights of individuals who rely upon...

So that is time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Lauren Hebert.

The cost of living is rising rapidly. How much has the cost of living gone up 3% raise for all county workers. The cost of living has gone up much more than that. A 3% raise amounts to less than $1,000 a year for the lowest paid among us. This is clearly not enough for the majority of county workers. Those with the highest salaries would make over $4,500 with this raise and some much more than that. A 3% raise across the board sounds fair on paper. In reality, some of your employees have a comfortable income while many are struggling financially. As you are well aware, the county workforce is chronically underpaid and those who make the least suffer the most. You have an obligation to protect the most vulnerable, lowest paid employees among us. The bigger problem here, more than any small raise that you propose, is the pay system. For each of our positions, there is a pay range, but as the head of HR has informed me, there is currently no way to move through that range. There is no benefit to either working harder or working longer for the county. Additionally, the vast majority of us are at the bottom of the range for our position. The only way we can ever make more money is through small raises that you provide to all of us or changing jobs entirely. We need a system where we can move up the pay scale in the job we're in. The way it is now, the only way we can ever get a better salary is if we quit our jobs. How does that make Pima County an employer of choice? It doesn't. It only encourages us to leave our jobs, even if we love them. And I love my job. We want to serve the public. We want to work for Pima County, but this is not sustainable. This pay system is a huge problem, and what we propose today is only a small part of that solution. We propose that you enact a tiered pay raise rather than one across the board. This would not cost more money, but would distribute it more fairly. If lower paid employees received a higher raise and higher paid employees a lower one, the cost would be the same, but you would help to protect your lowest paid employees from the ever increasing cost of living. We deserve fair pay and the county can do better. We would love to talk with you further about these issues if you're interested. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Scott Pricksmer. And then I'll say following Scott will be Cassandra King, Angie Dougherty, and JP Salvatierra will be the following.

Good evening, Chair Allen and members of the Board of Supervisors. My name is Scott Cruxmer, Chief Steward and Trustee of AFSCME Local 449 and a Pima County employee. I'm here tonight on behalf of Pima County's frontline workers regarding the proposed 3% across the board salary adjustment. We appreciate the board's stated commitment to supporting workforce recruitment and retention. However, to truly align this budget with your own prosperity initiative, goals of expanding economic mobility, we urge you to reject a flat percentage increase and instead adopt an equitable tiered compensation model. While a flat 3% raise looks equal on paper, it widens the income gap in practice. A worker earning $150,000 receives a $4,500 raise, while a frontline employee earning $35,000 receives just $1,050, roughly $0.50 an hour. adjustment completely fails to match severe non-discretionary inflationary pressures. With regional energy costs up to 22.9% and unleaded gasoline up over 38%, a flat raise acts as a real wage cut for our lowest paid tiers. We know a progressive approach is completely feasible because the board has successfully deployed it before, providing an 8.5% boost to lower brackets while scaling down to 1% for top earners. This is sound macroeconomic policy. Lower income households immediately spend nearly 100% of wage increases on local necessities. Because local government expenditures carry an income multiplier as high as 1.57 to 2.4, these dollars recirculate directly back into neighborhood and businesses, advancing directive number five of your own prosperity initiative. to improve job quality and build self-sustaining wages. This also goes into the mental health that we were talking about so people can actually afford it and to go get it and to take time off to do it. During the Tuesday, May 26, 2026 board meeting, County Administrator Jan Lesher noted that the tentative budget must remain disciplined and measured in its recommendations in order to protect core county services. but a flat raise does the exact opposite. It actively harms service delivery by starving the very frontline classifications experiencing our worst vacancy rates. If you want a truly disciplined and measured budget, the highest return on investment comes from lifting the floor. We urge you to replace this flat increase with a progressive tiered model, hold this budget accountable to the mandates of your own compensation strategy plan, lift our frontline workforce, and actually do the structural work required to earn back Pima County's status as an employer of choice. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Cassandra Kink.

Good evening, board. My name is Cassandra King. I serve as vice chair of the Pima County Union and work in eviction prevention and rehousing for CWD. I've been with Pima County for nearly four years. I value this work because it keeps me closely connected to the needs of our community. Our program serves low-income residents who are facing an imminent risk of eviction. Like many public servants, I did not choose this profession expecting to become wealthy. I chose it because I believe in helping people. What concerns me, however, is the number of clients I have assisted who are themselves Pima County employees. I have also heard from employees in other departments who have had to establish informal food pantries to support coworkers facing financial hardship. Setting aside the ethical concerns of maintaining a workforce that often relies on public assistance or mutual aid, I believe we should ask a practical question. How does it benefit the county or our community to pay wages so low that employees must rely on other government programs or on one another to meet basic needs? In my work, rental assistance often covers not only overdue rent, but also accumulated late fees and court costs. In many cases, it would be more cost-effective to pay employees enough to afford housing in the first place than to expend emergency resources after a crisis occurs. While housing is the area I know best, the same principle applies to other essential living expenses. Preventing hardship is often less costly than responding to it. The county already struggles to keep pace with local labor markets, and offering a cost of living adjustment that does not even match inflation sends a discouraging message to employees. For higher earners, a 3% increase represents a substantial raise. For many employees at the lower end of the pay scale, it is insufficient to keep up with rising costs and does little to improve financial stability. Pima County has an opportunity to demonstrate that it values its workforce through meaningful and equitable wage adjustments. Doing so is not only the right thing to do, it is also a sound investment in the county's future. Reducing financial strain, turnover, and employee debt strengthens the workforce, improves retention, and ultimately benefits the entire community we serve. please consider a tiered cost-of-living adjustment to help those in the Pima County workforce who need it the most. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Angie Doherty.

Good evening, supervisors. My name is Angie Dougherty, and I have been a Pima County employee for nearly three years. I'm also a union member. Before this year, I never participated in union or labor negotiations. I came into this process with an open mind. What surprised me the most that I did not expect was negotiations were one sided. My team came up with proposals, counter proposals, ideas, and solutions. Again, it felt the experience was one sided. Near the end of negotiations, human resources released a memo recognizing compensation and retention challenges. We shared this memo with longtime employees. Their response was immediate. They've been saying this for years. When a problem is identified once, it's a challenge. When it's identified repeatedly over many years, it becomes a chronic problem. And unfortunately, compensation is not the only area where employees see a disconnect between words and actions. I have personally seen union flyers posted on the bulletin board in my break room for nearly three years. Yet just this week, an email sent directing that union flyers be removed by the end of the day because the union doesn't have its own board, or then it was a lack of permission, or then it was inappropriate. This is not the past practice. After months of negotiation that often felt, again, one-sided, actions like this send a message. They create the perception that employees' communication, employee representation are not being given the same consideration that employees expect in a collaborative space. I'd like to show you a Facebook ad.

Friday, job frenzy.

A few days ago, we saw this county recruitment advertisement. The county describes its employees as strong, adaptable, resilient, and essential to our community. We agree with every word. The county seems very focused on recruiting new employees. We would like to see the same level of urgency devoted to the retaining of the employees who are already here. The question is no longer whether the county knows. The question is what the county intends to do about it. Because after years of reports, studies, reviews, acknowledgements, employees are still waiting. And waiting is not a retention strategy. Thank you.

Thank you. And our last speaker is J.P. Salvatierra.

Chair Allen, Supervisors, Administrator Lesher, Jonathan Salvatera, I'm a Tucson native. I hold an active real estate license and I've done many, many issues to investigate as photojournalism, videography, social justice issues. Many of them come before the board. Many of them come before the city of Tucson. We like to feel that the needs of the many are more important than the needs of the few. And by the few, I mean special interest stakeholders. They're not necessarily the people that, they interact, but if there's a prudent interaction, and by that prudent interaction, I mean capitalism with a conscience, Because the other flip side of it means that they take their contractual verbiage and put it into the area non-disclosure agreement activities. And then at the last minute, they spring it on the public and they say, hey, oh gee, we can't do anything about this. I mean, it's already been pretty well decided. The game plan is in place and we're ready to go. And that's very imprudent. I think we can do a lot better, and we deserve to give the public something better in our representation of that democracy that we have in place. I remember I came here, gosh, when Richard Elias was here, and We were complaining about Monsanto and the glyphosate and the horror of having Pima County employees have to use this stuff. And it's a requirement of their job. And I don't know where that went. It just kind of went by the wayside. Sometimes our health and environmental stuff, now we know that the mRNA that came with the COVID is not a healthy, safe model. that other endemic vaccines are better and safer for the public. We have latent issues with all the different kinds of problems that come up and they accelerate early mortality. And they put the county at a risk factor to have to substantiate why they supported certain actions at times when the evidence wasn't with that directive. So, and I also, I'll leave it at that. I'm just very grateful to see at this point the Administrator Lesher and all the wonderful work that she's done and I appreciate the benefit of her support and guiding every member of the council here, thank you.

Thank you. So I am closing call to the public. Would any board members like to do any of the following? Request staff to follow up on a matter from call to the public, request that an item be placed on a future agenda or respond to a criticism.

Thank you, Chair Allen. I want to thank all of our labor partners and members who are county employees for joining us today. I do think it's important for our county administrator to respond to the union's requests. I did provide this afternoon to your leadership a conversation that I'm having with the administrator kind of in parallel to the concerns. it is important for us to recognize the hardships that our low-income employees are faced with. The fact that when we did the data analysis and looked at the $45,000 amount, the average take-home pay is actually half of that. It's $1,000 biweekly. I don't know anybody who can survive on $2,000 a month in this economy, or frankly, ever. And so I want us to recognize the need for us to focus on this, but also in this recommended budget, which is going to be a combined 8% over two years. There are also very important employee compensation efforts related to child care stipends and also related to education reimbursements. The issue right now that we have to determine as board members, administrator, Lesher, is what if you are a long-time employee who has no children anymore or that they're adult age or you don't have student loans, right? Because that would be $10,000 that you could get into your pockets, but if you're not eligible for that, and I assume a majority or a significant amount of these 1,002 full-time employees earning less than $45,000, You know, we're going to have some work to do on this, and that would be my request. And also, Administrator Lesher, I hope we are not getting into the weeds of bulletin boards with our HR department. So I hope you can rectify that.

Similarly, I think Supervisor Cano, I was gonna just ask from the administrator, a cost breakdown of the scale progressive pay increase that AFSCME members have proposed. And then also second, just to request a meeting if it works for AFSCME members to sit down with the county administrator and other folks in the administration just to have the conversation be it about bulletin boards or other issues that are kind of lingering and need some resolution. Those are my two requests, and thank you all for being here today. Thank you for your commitment. All right. We are gonna move on. We have folks in the audience who are here for specific items, so we're gonna hop over to those items and deal with those first. So we are gonna go to item... Regular agenda addendum item number seven. This is the budget remediation plan update that I believe the chief deputy treasurer is here for.

Thank you. And Chair Allen, Director Cuaron is also here. I don't know whether it makes sense to start with Art or Jake.

I got up too fast.

No, no, no, you're fine. I think it's Mr. Cuaron, did you have anything you wanted to add to this conversation before Mr.

Administrator Lesher, Chair Allen, members of the board, included in the packet of materials is a budget remediation plan for the treasurer's office in the amount of $80,000. As the board will recall, back in February, they did approve use of contingency in the amount of 210,000 for what at that time was going to be a budget overrun in the treasurer's office. We have submitted the remediation plan to the board in accordance with the administrative procedure. And I'm happy to answer any questions related to that. And Chief Deputy Martin is also here.

Okay, so first of all, if I may take a moment, Supervisor Christie, back when I was an intern and a volunteer with the Pima County Republican Party, I worked very closely with Linda Barber and I'm sad to hear of her passing. My condolences and thank you for recognizing that. She will be missed. So to get into it, as Director Cuaron said, we were here back on February 7th when we had requested $210,675 to meet the necessary obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year. Of course, I am back, so something didn't go right. Essentially, what had happened was with the remediation plan that we had submitted, we had intended to eliminate a position with total cost savings of $89,000 per fiscal year. That position, due to administrative delays and bureaucratic processes that were not foreseen at the time the remediation plan was initiated, did not get eliminated this fiscal year. Therefore, we are projecting an $80,000 overage through the end of fiscal year 26. Now, the meat and potatoes of this remediation plan is that we can effectively borrow the money from next year's budget, meaning that we will be cost neutral to the county for this specific remediation. What that looks like is we will remediate the budget right now for $80,000. Starting in the new fiscal year, we will have the capacity to eliminate that position effectively in the start of the fiscal year, resulting in a cost savings of $89,000, allowing us to return the $80,000 to Pima County and keeping us cost neutral.

their chair questions from the board supervisor scott thank you i just wanted uh to ask uh uh ms lesher or or director cuaron uh if she designates him uh with that responsibility to uh uh follow up on on the presentation made by the deputy treasurer with any with any input from administration

Thank you, Chair Allen and Supervisor Scott. I think if the Board, I will tell you that Chief Deputy Martin has done an amazing work closing what the deficit appeared to be. I think what's critical is to address this in the way that Mr. Martin has described, which would mean rather than adding money to the base that would continue to expand, that this be considered one-time money coming from next year's budget. so that while the remediation plan has been based on the elimination of a position that's not happened, I think it's critical that we move forward indicating that that position must be eliminated and that we can't keep remediating it just because we're going over budget. So to do the one-time reallocation from next year to this year, understanding that July 1, the position is eliminated. Mr. Cuadron with your additional information. Excuse me.

Administrator last year members of the board the mechanism in which that would work would be if the board were to consider that you would fund the treasurer's budget this year from contingency when they when next year we do an FY 27 we do a budget amendment to take those those dollars out of his budget and replenish the contingency effectively next year.

Thank you. And so to sum up, if we look at the BOSER under fiscal impact, the last sentence, which says, if approved, the shortfall is recommended to be funded using excess fund balance received after period eight that was not incorporated into the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget. That one sentence sums up the Chief Deputy Treasurer's presentation and the input from the County Administrator and the Finance Director.

Mr. Quattrone, do we need to clarify that in any way or is that?

Chair Allen, members, Supervisor Scott, that's correct. You would effectively use the residual savings that were not built into the budget, which currently as of period 10 is 9.9 million, and it would have come off of that amount. And then we would replenish that through a budget amendment in FY27.

And then I just wanted to ask, Ms. Lesher kindly offered you kudos, Mr. Martin, for putting this proposal together. I'm a little surprised, actually more than a little surprised, that you're presenting it to us instead of the treasurer. Is he supportive of this proposal? or was the responsibility for putting it together delegated to you?

A bit of both, Supervisor Scott. I did put the proposal together, and I did present it to him, acquired his endorsement, and then we got it submitted to the finance department.

Okay, all right. Well, very much appreciate you being here to present this to us and for the time and thought that went into putting it together. I don't know, Chair Allen, if any of my colleagues had questions or comments, but if they don't, I'm gonna move that we approve the remediation plan request as drafted.

I'll second, but I do have a question.

Seconded by Supervisor Hines.

Thank you, Chair and whomever. So would this be, do we vote now on, this is kind of a little, you know, we're shifting things around for a few weeks basically, but is this something like we vote on the 2027 budget amendment now, next meeting, or in July? Or is this kind of like a two-part solution, right?

If I may, Chair Allen and Supervisor Hines, what that will do is We would appreciate the vote today. It not only allows us to approve the remediation plan for this year, but when the budget comes to you for final adoption, we will make sure that this is noted in that.

Thank you. So when, just to follow up, Chair Allen, so when we vote on final adoption for the budget, that is something that will be noted either by yourself, Ms. Lesher, or by Mr. Caron?

Chair Allen and Supervisor Scott, yes. And I think what you'll see, we have, even from when you received the tentative budget, we've had a couple of little tweaks and a change in a fund balancer thing. So that will be clearly delineated, any modification to the document you saw previously. Thank you.

So I'm wondering, well... First, the funding that was approved in February, the 210K that was, correct me if I'm misunderstanding, was not, what it was intended to be used for did not happen, it was delayed, is that correct?

So the entirety of that funding has effectively at this point been exhausted. What we had anticipated was that a position would have been eliminated, which would have freed up additional funds essentially to get us to the end of this fiscal year. That position was not eliminated, so those funds don't exist, meaning that we will need to effectively borrow from next year's budget.

So the 210 that was approved in February was... So you just, well, I'm just trying to understand. So what, okay. What was the reason for the delay? It's just.

So essentially in order to effectively execute the delay, or excuse me, not the delay, the position change, we will, we need to promote one staff member to a position and demote a second staff member down into the position. It is a voluntary demotion, but that staff member will demote down into the position that the previous one was raised from. So essentially, we need the funds to do a promotion before we can get the cost savings for the new position or from eliminating that position. So we were not able to get that done in this fiscal year, given that we were already projected over.

Any further questions? All right. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed?

Opposed.

Motion passes 4-1. Thank you.

Chair Allen. Supervisor Scott. Since we're talking about budget remediation plans and we approved item number seven, I would move approval of item number six, which is the budget remediation plans for three offices, the constable's office, office of the medical examiner, and public defense services. Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Cano. Discussion.

i just i would ask uh uh ms lesher if she or anybody on her team have anything to add to the um documents that are attached to the item chairman supervisor scott we have nothing in addition to what you have received as staff materials thank you may i share ask a question and i just missed this that was public defense services and office medical examiner and the constables

So on the constables, is this really for a vehicle that wasn't budgeted for that they purchased?

Chair Allen and Supervisor Hines, yes, it was.

Administrator Lesher, Chair Allen, Supervisor Hines, it's really a timing issue. The constables at the beginning of the fiscal year had sufficient budget capacity to purchase the new vehicle. and were authorized to do so at that time. And it wasn't until one of the constables got in an automobile accident that caused them the additional $30,000 or so in repairs that's causing them to go over budget in addition to the staffing increase in their medical coverage.

Okay. Thank you, Chair. I just want to make sure that nobody threw on an Escalade for no reason. So, all right. Great. Thank you.

All right. Any further discussion? all those in favor aye opposed item passes 5-0 and then i believe you are here for item 16. okay so we are going to go back to the regular agenda item 16 a and b And this is a hearing. Item 16A is a hearing. It's a rezoning closure. And we have a speaker, Bill Yeoman. And you also have three minutes.

Thank you. Good evening, board members and chair. I'm Bill Yeoman and I live in the Campbell Avenue zoning notification radius. I'm a 20 year homeowner there and a board member of Catalina Foothills Association. We want to protect the environmental and historic character of the old foothills and respect the Campbell Avenue scenic corridor. Within the radius are noteworthy architectural structures, including 1940 Josler and 1950s Tom Gist houses. Our neighborhood board supports all elements of the Department of Developmental Services staff recommendations. The longstanding agreement with the broader community regarding future development of this property should be extended and honored. This agreement limits the development to 16 houses and the height limit of 24 feet. The action proposed by the staff report will accomplish this. We strongly recommend that the developer consider the Catalina Foothills Association architectural guidelines included in the adjacent special area policy to enhance design capability with the greater Catalina Foothills community. And finally, the mission of the Catalina Foothills Association is to preserve the character of the Catalina Foothills, its unique collection of architecture and landscape. Our neighborhood is one of the oldest master-planned communities in Arizona, rare and worthy of preservation, containing numerous homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places and many other historical significant residences eligible for listing in the National Register. Thank you very much.

Thank you. So we will consider item 16A first. I will move to close the hearing and deny the closure of the rezoning.

Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Scott. Any further discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Those opposed? Item passes 4-1. Moving on to 16b, I will move to close the hearing and to approve the five-year time extension subject to original modified standard and special conditions.

Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Scott. Any discussion?

Chair Allen.

Supervisor Scott.

I just wanted to thank both Mr. Yeoman and Mr. Juneman from Lazarus and Sylvan, who's representing the applicant for the dialogue that they've had with each other regarding some of the concerns that Mr. Yeoman and his colleagues on the Catalina Foothills Association have, and I'm sure that dialogue is ongoing. Thank you both.

Okay, further discussion? All right. Madam Chair. Supervisor Christie.

Madam Chair. Yeah, I just wanted to clarify on 16, your motion was to deny the closure, correct?

On 16A, yes. We approved the denial of the closure.

Okay, I respectfully need to change my vote on that to a yes.

Okay. So I will.

Do we have to reconsider commission?

Or should I restate the motion as a. How do I how do I change my vote? Move to reconsider.

Sorry, Supervisor Krister, we were huddling on. Vote to reconsider the item 16A. Okay, vote on that. If you have an affirmative vote to reconsider, then you can get a motion to pass 16A. Okay. The denial of the closure, it's backwards.

But we should finish voting on 16B first.

Yes.

Okay, we are going to finish 16B, and then we will come back to do a motion to reconsider and redo the vote for 16A. So we were on discussion. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0.

I will move that we reconsider item 16A.

Seconded by Supervisor Christie.

Chair Allen. Uh, supervisor kind of so for council's guidance, I'm just do we have to reopen the hearing and then chairs resident?

No, the hearings already been closed. Um, so just first the vote to reconsider if that passes, then revote.

But even if it's a public, normally that's a public hearing, wouldn't that require notice and

Not on the reconsideration question, Supervisor Connell.

I'll take your counsel.

I'm sorry.

We're voting on the motion to reconsider.

We're voting on the motion to reconsider. All those, we had a motion, we had a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Thank you. The reconsideration passes 5-0. So now we're coming back to 16A. We had already closed the hearing. And so we are, Supervisor Scott, would you like to make the motion?

Sure, I'll move to approve the item that affirms staff's recommendation to deny closure of the rezoning. Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0. Yes.

Thank you.

All right. We are going to go back up to the front of the agenda and work our way through it. So we are on item number nine, and we are sitting now as the Flood Control District Board. This is a contract for 114 acres of vacant land within the Brawley Wash flow corridor. Move to approve the item. Second. Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0. Now we are sitting as the Library District Board. This is item 10, Authorizing Finance Risk Management to Execute Library District Donation Documents. I move to approve resolution number 2026-LD1. Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Is there discussion? All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Item passes 5-0. Now we are back to sitting as the Board of Supervisors. We have a few hearings related to 4th of July fireworks permits. Is there an item number 11? This is La Paloma Country Club. Is there anyone here who wishes to speak to this item?

I'll move to close the public hearing and approve this permit.

Seconded by Supervisor Hines, discussion. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0. Item 12, this is a hearing for Tucson Speedway fireworks permit. Anyone present who wishes to speak on this item? I will move to close the public hearing and approve this permit. Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0. Fireworks permit number 13 for Skyline Country Club. Anyone who wishes to speak? I will move to close the public hearing and approve this permit. Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0. Item 14 is a hearing for a liquor license for Chipotle Mexican Grill. Anyone who wants to speak to this item? I'll move to close the public hearing and approve the permit. Second. Second by Supervisor Hines. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0. Item 15, this is a liquor license for tinies. Is there anyone present who wishes to speak on the item? I'll move to close the public hearing and approve the permit. Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Any discussion? Chair Allen? Yes.

Fun fact, Tiny's is no longer in District 5 after this. It is now in your district. Have fun.

I was confused. We did do a little pause until I saw the address because I thought it was on our way, but it's not. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0. All right, we are moving on to a hearing for item 17. This is a comprehensive plan amendment resolution. Is there anyone present who wishes to speak on the item? If not, I will move to close the hearing and approve resolution number 2026-32, P25CA00004. Wow, and second. Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0. We move on to item 18, which is approval of the consent agenda.

Madam Chair.

I was waiting for it. Supervisor Christie.

I ask that we pull items 24 and 25. 24 and 25.

And we'll move the consent agenda minus items 24 and 25. Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Discussion? Oh, sorry. Seconded by Supervisor Scott. Discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Consent agenda minus items 24 and 25. Pass 5-0. Madam Chair.

Supervisor Cano. I'd like to approve items number 24 and 25. Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Scott. Discussion? All those in favor? Madam Chair. Oh, Supervisor Christie.

These are the items I asked to be pulled, correct?

Yes.

Could we just vote on 24? And I have some questions and discussion on 25.

Is that a make a little friendly amendment to that motion?

Well, I still want to bundle them, but I believe you can ask questions on both.

Oh, okay. Is that fine? We can continue with them being bundled, but you can ask your questions. Does that work?

Well, basically, on 24, I just want to have the ability to vote no.

Oh, so he wants to vote for after questions.

All right. Can we just unbundle? Well, I think we'll be clear.

I'll withdraw my motion and thank you. Ask for approval of item number 24. Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Scott. Discussion? Supervisor Christie. Oh, all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 4-1. On to item 25. I will move approval of, I'll move the item. Seconded by Supervisor Hines, discussion.

Madam Chair.

Supervisor Christie.

Just some questions. The reason for this particular item is that they're citing a doubling of, a necessity to double the size of the transition center. Two points. One is they're saying that there's increased demand that is requiring the doubling of the size of the transition center. What I would like to request is that we get an update on the efforts and the activities of the transition center and in particular what we are experiencing with the It's been a while since we've had any significant update on the transition center itself, and I'd just like to hear more about why we are in the situation where we don't have enough space. Are we creating more jobs than there are people, or are there more people coming through the transition center than the jobs can accommodate? So if we could, I'd like to have... some sort of an update on the activities of the transition center. And then secondly, I have a question. Do we know how much the city of Tucson is contributing to this transition center?

Chair Allen, Supervisor Christie and others, we're happy to get you an update on the transition center. But if you remember, the board has directed the expansion of the facility to go to seven days a week, hopefully eventually to 24 hours a day, but we have expanded to the full seven-day-a-week schedule, which has increased the staff and the people that we are serving. The amount that the city is giving, I do not know off the top of my head, Mr. Cashmore.

I'm sorry, sir.

Go ahead.

No, I didn't realize you were going to speak, so go ahead.

The city of Tucson has contributed two additional navigators. Both of those positions were filled. There was a promotion within, and so now one has remained vacant. They've committed that, which supports a seven day a week effort. Director Vestley would be happy to come and provide an update on the services being provided, and the grant was to support those services and to expand into a second building structure. and if you recall there was also some conversation about providing additional materials to be provided out and also a safe place to retreat in the event that there was some kind of emergency so madam chair chadney the the reason the contribution that the city is making is in manpower as opposed to any kind of cash contributions

Chair Allen, Supervisor Christie, yes, they provide two full-time employees.

Okay, but no cash? No, sir. Okay, thank you, Madam Chair.

Chair Allen. Supervisor Connell. Administrator Lesher, are you aware if all board members have toured the transition center? I know I have, but I don't know.

Chair Allen, Supervisor Christie.

Have you, Supervisor Hines and Chair Allen, Supervisor Christie, have you toured the transition center? I have not, Supervisor Cano. No, I have not. Okay. And Chair Allen, Administrator Lesher, this is a very important ASSET IN DISTRICT FIVE, I ENCOURAGE SUPERVISOR CHRISTIE TO VISIT THE TRANSITION CENTER. THERE WAS AN ANNUAL REPORT THAT WAS SENT TO THE BOARD ON MARCH 11TH THAT HAS A SUMMARY OF THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING, A REDUCTION IN 30-DAY JAIL REBOOKING RATES TO 6%, IMPROVEMENT IN COURT APPEARANCE RATE AMONG INDIVIDUALS SERVED, 11,600 POINTS OF SERVICE. Administrator Lesher and former Chief Casmar, now Deputy Casmar, can you give us the perspective of why the transition is important to law enforcement and to our region?

Supervisor.

Madam Chair, can I just interject here for the sake of time? Supervisor Cano, please be advised and all your concerns alleviated. I have every intention of voting for this item. I fully endorse and embrace what the Transition Center is doing. I'm incredibly proud of the efforts that have been made thus far. I simply want to have an update and some information about how it is being funded and an idea as to what we're getting as far as an influx of people that require the assistance of the Transition Center. It's probably the most valuable part of the issues we're dealing with as far as transition and homelessness, addiction, and all kinds of services that go out into the community to cause the problems that we're experiencing. So I don't need to have any kind of a presentation on its benefits now because I fully endorse them and understand them. I would like to have a formal update. That's all I'm requesting. And I'd also like to know how much the City of Tucson is. I don't think they're unreasonable questions. I think they're valid and justified. And I have every intention of voting for this item. Thank you, Madam Chair.

And thank you, Supervisor Christie. I certainly appreciate it. But Chair Allen, I would still like to hear Mr. Casimir's response to why the transition center is important. And the transition center expansion, by the way, was a part of the One Pima adoption, which was a 4-1 vote.

Supervisor Cano, Chair Allen, Ms. Lesher, the idea in its simplistic form is to break cycles of folks living in crisis, and so it's getting folks connected with services who are struggling with mental health and substance use disorders typically, and whether it's food insecurities, housing insecurities, being connected with services, with family, and the goal is to break the cycle of folks having to go out and shoplift and steal or be arrested, and that becomes a solution for law enforcement. And so it's connecting those services with the ultimate goal to reduce folks being rearrested and reducing recidivism.

Thank you so much. I appreciate that response. Thanks, Chair Allen.

there is no further discussion all those in favor of the item I opposed item passes 5-0 and that is the consent agenda we will go back to the regular agenda we are on item number 19 this is the county administrator hiring process We are joined by our HR director, Ms. Boland. I'm happy to kind of pick off the update, sharing the process. So as I think as you all know, the hiring period concluded at the end of May, or the application period concluded at the end of May. I think in reflection and looking at what came in from that time period, I think it was a moment to make sure and think about how we have not done this hiring for 35 years. for an administrator position and the need then for really making sure that we do it right. And we got some excellent candidates, but we did not get very many candidates. And the process of the hiring process is one of winnowing as we move down. So if we start with a very small pool, we winnow down very quickly. So I think that the recommendation from Ms. Boland was that we bring in, and I know that there might be a few I told you so's, that we bring in a recruiter to help us shake the tree and start out with a robust pool before we go into the search committee and further refine the process. And so that is the request on the table today. I don't know if there is more that you might want to add, Director Boland. Okay.

So then we need to make a motion to direct staff to select a recruitment firm to facilitate this hiring process? Is that it? That is it. Then I will move that. Second.

Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Scott. Further discussion?

Chair Allen.

Supervisor Scott.

Can we get some estimate as to the timeframe that we're looking at in terms of getting a firm selected and having them operational?

Chair Allen and Supervisor Scott, if I can get back with you on specifics, there's a variety of options we can do this, and we're hoping to do what I would refer to as a modified direct select, where our procurement department can contact companies in this business, see who's available, and rather than going through the normal bid process and all of that, when we get down to a few, we can work at making a direct select from that. I believe it would be an estimate of 15 to 30 days. Am I correct in looking, Ms. Boland, at what that might take? And I think also Mr. Holmes has been talking with our procurement director, but I'm hoping that window for the sort of modified direct select, 15 to 30 days.

Chair Allen. Yeah. Board of Supervisors, direct select, you are correct. It says 15 to 30 days. Thank you. Then we need to give adequate time for the recruiter to also gather a pool, and that could take anywhere from 30 to 90 days.

But to answer your question, it was 15 to 30 days to pick a company. And I think that as we identify that individual or the firm, we can – come back with a better idea of how we might need to modify the timeline. Our hope is that since the target for the timeline at this point for the board was to identify a candidate in September, have that person here October 1 for a full 90 days overlap, that's a lot of time. And so I think we've got an ability to maybe skinny that up a bit if we look at it. So I think once we can find that search firm and get a sense of what the recruitment time is,

we can come back with a revised timeline but i think you've got some air at the end there that we can about which we can take advantage chair allen i i agree with everything that the county administrator just said in terms of the flexibility the the board has given when we started this process but just wanted to get some um Expanding on that 30 to 90 day frame, time frame, Ms. Boland, that you just cited, that's a pretty wide range. What would... I see. Okay. All right. Well, when we can get some more explication about that range and where we are more likely to be, depending on the firm selected, that would be helpful.

Chair Allen.

Supervisor Conniff.

In the spirit of having a consensus driven process that shows the board's oversight of this very important decision, frankly, the most important decision that we have in front of us, I will be supporting the motion, but I'm doing it with a bit of resistance and hesitation because I do believe that not knowing much of the information at this point about who applied or how many folks I'm disappointed to hear that the poll is small. I think we also have to acknowledge the people who did apply are the people who showed interest. And in my experience, what happens in these situations is you get HR to go find the firm, then the firm starts talking to people nationally. And this is my own district five opinion, but I am not interested in a national search. I am not interested in recruiting somebody from Montana or from New York or any of these other jurisdictions. And so if you can just consider in that process in the procurement of this checking in with each one of the board members to understand what their preferences are. I think that'll be an important step. If I have to agree to a distinction that this person be Arizona-based, I'd rather do that from this dais publicly so that the people of District 5 know where I stand on this. But I just, you know, I get why we have to do it. I'm not excited to expend resources and the timeline is going to be most important to me at this point so it is it is it was important for me to share that thank you thank you uh supervisor heinz then supervisor christy no i defer to the remote oh supervisor christy thank you um do we have any idea how much this is going to cost

Chair Allen and Supervisor Christie, I do not. Ms. Boland, do you have experience that gives us a range? Chair Allen, Ms. Lesher, I do not. Do not. Well, as soon as we begin to identify companies with which we'd be having the conversation, we can try to get you some information on what those numbers would be.

Wouldn't that be a better idea, and I'm just throwing this out, that we continue this item until we do have some more facts and figures as to what the timeframes are, and particularly what the cost of such an undertaking is going to be. I don't feel comfortable voting on something that's going to require, I'm sure, significant money. I've been on the board long enough to know we've had several of these consulting firms over the years, and they ain't cheap. And with something of this magnitude, maybe we could call a special meeting on this. I don't know. But I'd like to have some ideas how much it's going to cost us before we jump into this thing.

Chair Allen, and I think to the point that my colleague from District 4 raised, this will come back to the board for us to formally contract with whatever recruitment firm is being proposed for a direct select. Is that my understanding? Okay.

We would still be approving the contract.

Yes, you would. Thank you. Yes.

also chair allen i do recall because i know we've all tried but i don't think that december 31st is any sort of drop dead date anyway because we have the gracious flexibility of our current county administrator should it take us seven more months to deal with this i'm sure she could hang out for a couple months wow

Yes, indeed, indeed.

I would also, just for the purpose of the urgency of continuing to move forward, that we could approve your motion, Supervisor Hines, knowing that the contract will come back to us and that we'll ultimately approve it. And then I also trust that both from HR and procurement that there is mindfulness towards Yes, frugality. Yes, not.

So if I may, Chair Allen, according to Google, the Google machine hiring a recruitment firm for a county administrator in a large county will typically cost between $30,000 and $60,000 in estimated recruitment fees.

Okay.

All right, so we have, is there any further discussion? all those in favor aye aye aye opposed item passes 4-1 we are on to item 21 this is the

Since that last vote, we are going to hold Google to those figures, are we not, Supervisor Hines?

Item 21 is the vote centers. State statute requires our approval of the vote center locations for the 2026 primary election. I will move to approve the designation of vote centers for the 2026 primary election. Second. Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Discussion?

Chair Allen. Supervisor Scott.

Madam Chair.

When we first had boat centers established, there was input that was sought on their location, not just from the political parties, but also from our jurisdictional partners. I know that we're A few years into this, so maybe we don't seek that same level of input as we did when we first started vote centers. But I just wanted to ask the county administrator if we did seek any input from either the political parties or our jurisdictional partners as to vote center locations.

Chair Allen, Supervisor Scott, I know that there was outreach and conversation. I can't tell you exactly who it was, but Director Cosgrove has been in communication with a variety of individuals, including jurisdictions and the parties.

Thank you. If there's anything further that can be shared from her office, that would be appreciated. We'll do that. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am.

Any further discussion?

I just want to thank the elections director for her open efforts to accommodate areas in my district, particularly Green Valley. The whole process of the last election cycle has been a new and in some cases difficult one for many residents in the Green Valley area to navigate, but our elections director has done a wonderful job of reaching out and including the community in it. I would just ask maybe if the county administrator could direct a request to the elections director. Green Valley Recreation is a very large and extensive organization within the Green Valley area and historically they have provided voting places and voting centers and polling places over the years in very convenient locations because a lot of their facilities are spread throughout the Green Valley community and can be quite convenient. Recently they have completely drawn back, withdrawn from doing any voting of any kind. And I'm just wondering if you could convey to the elections director a sense that if she could investigate as to what are the real causes behind Green Valley Recreation not allowing or not participating in the election polling places, it would be helpful because my office gets numerous calls about why isn't Green Valley Recreation cooperating in this? And then quite frankly, I'm not sure if I know all the details, but I'm sure our elections director, if she'd be given the opportunity and direction, could find out. So I would appreciate that if that could be conveyed to the elections director.

Chair Allen, Supervisor Christie, I will convey it to Director Cosgrove and get an answer back to the board.

Thank you so much.

right any further discussion all those in favor aye opposed item passes five zero chair allen supervisor scott in the interest of time yeah uh i would uh move items 22 through 26. i will second that uh discussion All right. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Items pass 5-0. Item 27 is an acceptance of a grant for the Office of Emergency Management.

I'll move the item. Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Scott. Any discussion? all those in favor aye opposed one item passes for one moving on to the addendum we are thank you excuse me thank you item number three on the addendum this is an item that we added this would be creating a study session to the second meeting of the month the Board of Supervisors and This is not, just to say what it is not proposing, it is not proposing that we have a full, robust study session in both of our meetings. This is aimed more at ensuring that we can have an executive session before the meeting starts at 5 o'clock so that we don't have to do what we did at the last meeting. second meeting of the month, which was because we had executive session, we changed the meeting time and scheduled it at 4 o'clock, kind of at the last minute, which was confusing. This would ensure that we can get executive session over with before 5 o'clock so that we're not here very late, and when the public comes in the evening, they don't have to sit there while we're in executive sessions. So I will move to add a second study session to the second meeting of the month. Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Discussion?

Chair Allen.

Supervisor Connell.

I want to reiterate that I am still paying close attention to whether this new schedule is both Being a good steward of our taxpayer dollars, there's respectfully one person in this audience right now in the evening, and it's been that way for pretty much the last three. And I do not believe that, I want our county administration and our departments to really get disciplined about the timing on our study sessions. And I know that we're kind of already running up on, I mean, look at today, right? We have to cut a conversation short. And so it's gonna be both the board's responsibility to, make sure that we're moving fast, but also the departments. And I just worry that by now, quite literally doubling, right, this is now, we went from two meetings to four with this motion, or, you know, as we consider it, I want to ensure that it's just for executive session, for the additional study session, and that if we consider it be like at 2.30 or 3 right before, and only if needed, if it's an executive. I think if we get into the habit of it being every meeting I'd rather provide an authorization for the accounting attorney to have flexibility and decisions until that one study session. A lot of word vomit. I love greater ability to think differently and I appreciate the efforts to be doing all of this with some reforms. going to continue paying attention to whether it's worth the investment.

I think you're not alone. I think this is an experiment, and it is iterative, and we'll probably continue to have items on the agenda with adaptations to what we have started. So, yes. And I think it is a very, we should be paying attention to whether or not the evenings are resulting in what the goal was. And, yes. Chair Allen, may I get some, I'm sorry. Yeah.

i was just going to say so are we i mean are we amenable to it being as needed only and a start time closer to our official meeting so like a 3 p.m or a 4 p.m instead of a one chair supervisor for me yes it's fine for me for executive session

Chair, may I get just some clarification from staff? Because the item is written saying it may also be used for study session items that the agenda committee wants to put on. And what I heard Supervisor Cano say is that the second study session would only be for executive session. So if we could get clarification from the board about that so that we know how to staff it appropriately.

I am okay with it being limited to executive session as needed, if then there not be one, if there is not an executive session, and that the time be one that is close to the regular meeting, per Supervisor Cano's suggestion.

So for clarity, Chair Allen, just to make sure that we have continuity for the clerk who has to post all of this, for this second meeting, if needed, is a 3.30, time certain, okay? That gives us one hour to discuss.

Chair Allen, Supervisor Cano, I guess it would depend on how many executive sessions are going to be on that second study session.

How about three p.m.?

Chair, Supervisor, three is better than 3.30.

And what's the deal, Chair Allen and Madam Clerk, with the tape that needs to be queued up beforehand? So is 4.30 technically our end time?

Hi, Chair Allen, Supervisor Kano. We just need time to finalize the first video of the study session and then for staff to set up as well for the regular meeting. So that is that half hour that we've asked for.

So that's not necessary for an executive session only study session, right?

It will because it's study session, which would be two separate meetings.

That's correct.

Is this space empty?

Chair Allen, Supervisor Hines, if there is a study session because of executive session, we will still need to post an agenda, do roll call. The board has to take action to go into executive session and then come back out to adjourn.

Chair, if I might add, Supervisor Connell, because this came up today, consideration of executive session plus study session items that were moved from previous because otherwise that item goes a month later okay just because it came up today

That's not what you're saying.

Yeah, so my my reflect my my input and I'm hoping for the board support is that we do executive session only second session, second meeting, second study session, executive session only as needed with the start time at 3pm with the hopes that that gives us an end time of 430 to be able to flip the tapes. I want to also just reiterate this is this is not about whether I am concerned about additional duties. I am in District 5 planning all of my meetings before with this new time at 4, right? I'm booked for the next month, for instance, with 10 AMs to 3 PMs when we have these for those second days. So that is truly my hesitation is that we've already scheduled in advance.

And Chair, I think just to be clear, the staff presentations that are placed, we've had standing requests from the board, so those are on. We're happy to modify those. If the board would prefer to get any of that information in memo format rather than study session or agenda, just let us know.

Supervisor Christie.

Yeah, I think we need to pretty much define the purpose of what we're doing here. Are we doing this to accommodate more agenda items and executive session items? Or are we doing it to increase public participation so it make it convenient for them to be present in these meetings? I don't see how we basically, if you combine the hours involved in both executive session and study session into the regular session, We've just shifted the time from in the morning all the way to the afternoon, but starting in the afternoon, it's basically the same time. I'm trying to figure out, isn't there a better way where we can winnow down the items, particularly the presentations, as the county administrator just mentioned? I wonder, are we achieving what we set out to achieve?

I mean, I think that that is the question, and because this is new. But I will say for this particular item, it is intended to ensure that we can start at 5 p.m., And that in so doing, when people come, because it's in the evening, the public doesn't have to sit there from 6, 7 o'clock while we are in executive session, meaning then that everybody is here until 9 or 10 o'clock when we actually wrap up the meeting. So it's taking that slice out of executive session, putting it above the meeting, so that people don't all have to sit here, staff, the public, until 9 or 10 o'clock. That's the goal of this particular item. And then the rest of it is a larger, not an existential question, but what are we doing with all of these changes? I think it is about making things a little more efficient, a little more structured, certain types of discussions happen at different times, and creating greater availability for public in the evenings.

So Madam Chair, what's the item before us now?

So, Chair Allen, I just kind of being sharing the same concern, Supervisor Christie. What I am hearing that makes me supportive of this is that if there is a need for our lawyers to have to talk to us, it's better to have a calendar time instead of. like we had to recently with a special meeting, call one, right? And so this is giving us some flexibility to have that option. And on that front, I absolutely agree that we should have the opportunity for our council to be able to meet with us as needed.

And Chair, I don't usually weigh in this much, but the flexibility is still there if needed. If we're not done at five, come back at 8.30 when the public part is done and finish, you know, if a conversation needs to happen.

Unless it's about an agenda item.

Unless it's about an agenda item, correct.

All right.

Chair Allen and colleagues. I think I mean today it's particularly dead because we have an unusual and like concurrent city of Tucson Council meeting occurring right now. So I think that's why it may look a little, you know, like little light yeah so but we obviously did this you know the second and fourth Tuesday thing we made that change to intentionally not overlap and so this is just one of the times when it happens and it's summer yeah all right so we have there is a motion

that I think I made the motion to add a second study session to the second meeting of the month. The agreement that has been clarified, I don't know that needs to be included in the motion, right, around that it is solely for the purposes of executive session. If there is no executive session, then there is no study session. Ideally starting around three o'clock. It was seconded by Supervisor Hines. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 4-1. All right, we are now at addendum item number four. Yes.

And...

Addendum item number four, I will move that we authorize the Pima County Attorney's Office to join or file a lawsuit related to ARS 13-4296 with the condition that PCAO will come back to the board on June 23, 2026 with more details. Second. Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Discussion.

All those in favor? Aye.

Opposed? Item passes 5-0. Addendum item number five. This is release of attorney-client privilege memorandum. I will move to direct the county administrator and Pima County Attorney's Office to proceed as discussed in executive session and continue this item to June 23rd, 2026. Seconded by Supervisor Hines, discussion. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item passes 5-0. Sure, Alan. Supervisor Scott.

Again, in the interest of time, I would move addendum items 8 through 11. Second.

Seconded by Supervisor Hines. Discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Items pass 5-0. And... That concludes our meeting. Thank you everyone.