TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Pima County voters will decide this fall whether the county should be allowed to spend more of the tax revenue it already collects, the county announced in a press release.
The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 during its Tuesday meeting to place an "Expenditure Limit Adjustment" question on the Nov. 3 ballot. If approved, the measure would permanently raise the county’s spending ceiling, allowing it to utilize funds already gathered through existing taxes and fees.
The issue stems from a 1980 state law that set a baseline for how much local governments can spend, adjusted annually for inflation and population growth. Pima County officials say annual expenditures are now "bumping up against" that decades-old ceiling.
“This vote, if passed, would not raise taxes nor allow the Board to spend more money than it takes in or has budgeted,” said Board Chair Jennifer Allen. “It also wouldn’t reduce tax rates if it doesn’t pass. All it will do is allow us to spend the funds collected every year via the tax rates set by the Board every budget year.”
If approved by voters, the base expenditure limit would increase by $70 million—roughly 75% higher than the current base. County officials estimate this adjustment would provide enough "breathing room" to cover projected revenues for at least the next 20 years.
County Finance Director Art Cuaron warned in a March report that the current cap could force the county into a legal paradox: collecting money from taxpayers that it is legally prohibited from spending.
“Voters would be paying for services they might not receive because we exceeded the limit in a previous year,” Cuaron said. “That’s the situation we need voters to help us avoid.”
County Administrator Jan Lesher argued that the formula created 46 years ago could not have anticipated the modern costs of local government. She pointed to the evolution of law enforcement equipment as a primary example.
According to Lesher, voters in 1980 could not have envisioned the costs of equipping sheriff’s deputies with Tasers, personal protective equipment, or networked patrol vehicle computers. She also noted the exponential rise in the cost of information technology, including laptops and tablets that were nonexistent when the law was written.
Pima is not the first Arizona county to seek such an adjustment. Voters in seven other counties, including Maricopa, have already approved similar extensions. Coconino and Yavapai counties most recently passed their own adjustments in 2024.
For residents looking for more information on the complexities of the expenditure limit, the Arizona County Supervisors Association provides a breakdown of the law, its exceptions, and the implications of exceeding the limit on its website.
