A group of Pima County residents from across the political spectrum, have come together in support of pets, and in opposition to Pima County’s proposed Prop 415. Their opposition stems from the fact that Proposition 415 is not about caring for the community’s pets, but about hiding pork intended for fat cat consultants.
The Pima County Supervisors voted to place a bond measure on the 2014 General Election ballot with the stated intention of funding a “no-kill” animal shelter. In that bond package are millions of dollars tagged for consultants, according to a group calling itself Stop Prop 415.
The ad hoc group, made up of Independents, Democrats, and Republicans say that they are pet lovers, say that they are “are opposed to the exploitation of pets to gain approval by the voters for pork.” They note that “nearly $3 million in consultant fees are hidden in the bond package.”
“We love our animals, but as we have seen recently, the majority of the members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors have no respect for the voters’ wishes. They have spent monies approved by the voters on projects that the voters did not approve Not only do we believe that they will show the same disregard for the people and pets of Pima County, the fact of the matter is that we cannot afford more debt,” said Committee member Merritt McGlothlin.
Richard Hernandez, an advocate for Tucson, children, and the poor appeared on the James T. Harris radio show on Monday to discuss his opposition to the proposition. He told Harris’s listening audience at 104.1FM in Tucson that the County is ignoring the effect that the continual increase of property taxes on the working poor is devastating.
Hernandez, who led the successful recall effort against two members of the Sunnyside Unified School District, told Harris that in Sunnyside alone there are 1,600 homeless students, and more will come if the County continues to price families out of their homes and apartments. Hernandez said that the County supervisors “have to think of the babies, first.”
Hernandez asked how the County can even think of increasing taxes on the residents of the eighth poorest metropolitan area in the country.
According to the Stop Prop 415 Committee:
● Pima County has twice as much debt as all 14 counties in Arizona combined
● $1.4 billion in debt already includes sewer debt)
● $280 million road repair problem with no fix in sight
● Tax rate increased 24% over the past 2 years
“Irresponsible spending continues, and in 2014 the supervisors approved an additional $16 million dollars in a speculative land deal and open space. Now they want $22 million more in debt,” said the Committee in a statement released Monday. “The projected cost to pay back the bond is expected to be $28 million with interest.”
The members of the Stop Prop 415 Committee call on Pima County residents to ask themselves if they can afford more taxes. The Primary Property Tax Rate has increased $16.67 per $100 of assessed value; a total increase over the past 2 years is 23.7 percent.
According to the group, the pet lovers of the Stop Prop 415 Committee have asked themselves whether they can keep their family pets and their homes if they allow the supervisors to continuing growing the debt. Without exception, they all came to the conclusion that they cannot afford Pima County administrator Chuck Huckelberry’s reckless spending.
Hernandez told his many supporters, “For the record the Hernandez family has 4 horses & 4 dogs on our property. We love our creature / animals, friends & companions. But FIRST, our human brothers & sisters in Christ.” He said that while he does support improving the facilities for animals, he said that the County should be focusing on people first.
While the more affluent supporters of the County’s expensive plan say that the tax increase amounts to a latte a year, many residents in Pima County could never dream of splurging on a latte when they are unsure if they can afford the gas to get to one of their three low-wage paying jobs, notes Hernandez.
The group is asking the public to visit www.prop415.org to learn more about the proposition.
