Some county employees to get $1k bonuses as Pima Supes finish 2026-27 budget

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to approve a $1.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2026-27.

Board priorities include programs to address homelessness and public safety, while giving county employees a 3 percent raise and more. The supervisors approved a last-second bonus of $1,000 for county employees earning less than $45,000 a year. The board voted for the bonus in the final moments of a months-long budget process.

County Administrator Jan Lesher and her team must now figure out where to find the $1.3 million that bonus will cost. It may just be the start of boosting lower-end county wages because the board asked the staff to start brainstorming how to make $45,000 the minimum salary for all county workers.

A slight property tax increase in taxes comes along with the budget. Property owners will pay a combined tax rate of $5.2835 per $100 of taxable valuation, up from $5.1961 per $100 in fiscal year 2025-26.

Most of that increase is in the form of an additional $0.0790 per $100 of assessed value applied to the primary property tax. That tax pays for daily operations. The additional revenue will be used to fund infrastructure programs, affordable housing assistance and cost burdens shifted from the state to the county.

The budget takes effect at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.

Supervisor Steve Christy objected to the tax hike and voted against the budget.

“It’s not sound policy when we have rising property valuations,” Christy said.

The new taxes will be used for programs that go beyond the traditional functions of the county, said the lone Republican on the board.

Supervisor Andrés Cano defended the budget, saying the state and federal government have cut programs that many Pima County residents find vital.

“It’s incumbent on jurisdictions like ours at the local level to keep those services afloat” the Democrat said.

The major elements of the budget’s $870 million general fund break down like this:

• $386 million for justice and public safety
• $366 million for general government
• $60 million for environmental and public health
• $27 million to fund conservation and rec resources
• $24 million pays for community and economic opportunity

The county’s budget is buttressed by high area property values, especially in the residential housing stock. Governments more reliant on property taxes avoid the cascading revenue fluctuations experienced by sales-tax-dependent cities and towns.