Pima County 2027 Bond Program

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

What: the city's draft list of 17 high-priority projects for a possible Pima County general obligation bond on the November 2027 ballot.
Where it stands: on October 20 council gave feedback only; no vote. The county Bond Advisory Committee has not yet heard the city's projects (its next meeting was about 10 days away) and aims to recommend a list and total to the Board of Supervisors around March 2027.
Next: staff refine the list after the county names a bond size; council expects the list to be cut.

City Manager Thomure and Liz Morales (assistant city manager and the city's committee appointee) described projects in four groups:
- Public safety and critical facilities: regional 911 center (replacing a 1982 facility), new infill fire station, city court renovation.
- Public health and community facilities: regional navigation center for unsheltered residents, Center East mixed-use affordable housing, shovel-ready affordable housing sites, neighborhood investment in high-poverty areas, resilience hubs.
- Transportation safety: traffic safety infrastructure, arterial pavement, Old Vail Road widening (Rita Road to Houghton Road).
- Parks and recreation: a Mexican American cultural center, three park packages, Tucson Convention Center enhancements, public restrooms and drinking water.
Costs are preliminary. Totals mentioned in discussion varied ($341 million, $383 million, $431 million), so treat them as uncertain.

Share of proceeds: Council Member Cunningham said the county has signaled about 40% for the city versus about 53% of the county population; he set 47% as his bar for supporting a package and argued for a larger bond than a no-tax-increase one (about $97 million to the city).
Site and scope: Cunningham questioned the Center East site; Council Member Barajas asked for rodeo grounds work, restrooms and water at the Laos Transit Center and Ward 5 parks, and skate park improvements; Council Member Dahl asked for a boundary-area pool upgrade; Councilwoman Lee welcomed Old Vail Road.
Missing priorities: Council Member Schubert urged housing preservation (Craycroft and Fry towers), water security including PFAS treatment, affordability and climate preparedness.
Mayor Romero: the county board is separately putting $250 million toward affordable housing outside the bond; the city list will need to be trimmed once the county number is known.

About 37 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-20 - Mayor and Council	37

2026-10-20 - Mayor and Council - Study session item 4 (about 37 minutes). Staff presented the 17 projects; council members pressed for a larger city share, added park and Ward 5 requests and raised housing, PFAS water and climate priorities. No vote.
2026-10-22 - Page created from a posted agenda; no meeting transcript processed yet.