Tucson facing drop in state funding

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The city of Tucson has a balanced proposed budget for the 2025 fiscal year, but the city manager's office said that due to changes in Arizona's income tax, the city is receiving $27 million less in state funding.

Last year, Tucson saw $144,838,085 from the state of Arizona. This year, that number dropped down to $117,387,925.

The Office of the City Manager, which held a budget town hall Tuesday, said this is because of a 2.5% flat rate on income tax that went into effect in 2023.

Funding from the state of Arizona makes up 12% of Tucson's revenue, according to the city.

Assistant City Manger, Timothy Thomure, said that promises made to Tucsonans were already baked into the budget and won't be affected by the drop in revenue.

“Any promise we’ve made to the voter in the form of they voted for a property tax or a sales tax, any promise we made as part of a community engagement, those investments are built into the budget,” Thomure said.

He also said that Tucson has a safety net in the form of $142 million in savings.

"We're actually going to use that over the next three years to withstand the reductions in revenue," Thomure said. "The problem is you don't want to spend all your savings account and go to zero."

The city is asking Tucsonans for their help with finalizing the budget. They've held a couple town halls in different areas of the city and put out a survey online.

They're holding meetings open to the public on Wednesday, April 3 on the Westside at the El Rio Center, 1390 W. Speedway Blvd., and Thursday, April 4 at the Ward 2 Office on the Eastside, 7820 E. Broadway Blvd. Both sessions will run 6 - 7 p.m.

The online survey is open until Sunday, April 14. For more information on the public meetings and to access the online survey, visit the City of Tucson website.