Tucson Mayor Regina Romero Happy with City Budget and State Assistance to Help Clean and Reopen TARP

This has been a good week for the people of Tucson.

First, Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality have announced the allocation of two million dollars toward accelerating the cleanup and reopening of the Tucson Airport Remediation Plant (TARP.)

It is the second allotment from the state designed to help the cleanup of TARP. In December 2020, the state provided $3.3 million to help address this situation.

The plant had been closed by Tucson Water with the support of Mayor Regina Romero, the Tucson City Council, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality earlier in the month due to the pending threat of rising poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) levels in the plant water supply.

In making this announcement, Governor Ducey stated:

“Making sure all Arizonans receive safe and clean drinking water remains a top priority of our state. This funding will help Tucson Water bring an important water treatment facility back online and secure Tucson’s water supply for future generations. Every source of water in Arizona is critical as we face drought conditions and the risk of a drier future…“We continue to call on the federal government to take prompt action to address PFAS contamination in Arizona. Arizona is acting now to contain the threat of PFAS, but we are asking the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to address DOD-related PFAS contamination of groundwater throughout Arizona and protect the health and safety of Arizonans.”

Happy with this bipartisan cooperation between Tucson and the Ducey Administration, Mayor Regina Romero relayed:

“City-state partnership has been and will continue to be important to ensure the safety and long-term security of our local water supply. Tucson’s Mayor and Council have already invested millions of local dollars to treat PFAS contamination. Still, there is an urgent need for the federal government and responsible parties to initiate or provide funding for large-scale PFAS cleanup efforts. Tucson Water ratepayers are not responsible for PFAS contamination and should not be left with the bill.”

It is telling and refreshing that both the Republican Governor and Democratic Mayor, in bipartisan agreement, want the federal government to clean up the mess their agencies created.

It is a pity that Mr. Ducey has not exhibited this bipartisan posture on a more consistent basis. Just look at the pending state budget to see what I mean.

Mayor Romero was also very happy with the passage of the fiscal year Tucson City Budget.

This measure, passed yesterday (June 23, 2021,) provides:

• 14 million dollars for local infrastructure road projects.
• 33 million dollars to bring city employee salaries to a market level.
• 816 thousand dollars for small business navigators.
• 500 thousand dollars to staff the newly created Office of Equity.
• 5.1 million dollars toward community safety programs.

Commenting on the budget passage, Mayor Romero stated:

“The pandemic tested our limits – but we have proven our resilience, and are prepared to springboard into our economic recovery. The approved budget represents a significant step forward in improving core services and quality of life for Tucsonans by supporting our economic recovery, investing in new strategies to promote community safety, and doubling the amount we are investing in local road repairs.”

“Importantly, we are taking steps to ensure equity in the delivery of all city services through the Office of Equity. We are also making a historic and much-needed investment in our workforce that will enhance employee recruitment and retention, and save taxpayers the costs associated with high turnover and worker re-training.”

“The approved budget is fiscally sound and balanced. This is a testament to the diligent efforts by city staff and Mayor & Council to navigate our city through such unprecedented times.”

City Manager Michael Ortega also conveyed:

“(The) Mayor and Council’s leadership on this budget demonstrates their commitment to putting the City of Tucson in a strong financial position for the upcoming fiscal year and well into the future.”

More assistance will be coming to Tucsonians in the future as the Mayor and the City Council work next month on deciding how to appropriate the first installment of  Federal American Rescue Plan funds sent to Tucson earlier this year.