Pima County Board of Supervisors — What to Watch
Tuesday, May 26, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Board of Supervisors' Hearing Room
62 substantive items on the agenda (28 for discussion, 34 on consent calendar)
Pima County Board of Supervisors Meeting Preview: May 26, 2026
The Board meets Tuesday with a packed agenda dominated by FY2026-27 budget hearings — including the full county tentative budget — alongside high-profile political business: a decision on releasing a damaging investigation report on Sheriff Chris Nanos and a discussion of how to hire the county's next top administrator. Here are the items that matter most.
1. 🔴 Supervisors to Decide Whether to Release 65-Page Sheriff Investigation Report
Item 26 (Unfinished Business) | Not on consent calendar
The Board will revisit whether to waive attorney-client privilege and release a 65-page investigative report by NorthStar Employment and Legal Solutions related to a March 2026 administrative investigation into Sheriff Chris Nanos and other command staff. The item was first raised April 21 and has been held over, suggesting the Board has not yet reached consensus. This is one of the most politically charged items on the agenda — the public has not seen the full findings, and the decision to release or withhold them will have direct implications for transparency and accountability at the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
2. 🔴 County's Full FY2027 Tentative Budget Up for Adoption
Item 17 (Hearing) | Not on consent calendar
The Board will hold a public hearing and vote to adopt the tentative Pima County budget for Fiscal Year 2026-27 — the foundational spending document that sets the ceiling on county expenditures. This hearing is the primary opportunity for residents to weigh in before the budget is finalized. Given ongoing pressures including federal funding uncertainty, expiring grants for community health workers (see Item 29), and a tight property tax environment, what the Board chooses to fund — or cut — will shape county services for the coming year.
3. 🟠 Supervisors Consider Keeping Community Health Workers on Payroll as Federal Grants Expire
Item 29 | Not on consent calendar
A District 2 supervisor is asking the Board to add $186,000 to the FY27 budget to preserve the Health Department's Office of Non-Communicable Diseases, including Community Health Workers (CHWs) whose grant funding is expiring. The item also directs the county to protect CHW staffing levels in future budget years, insulating them from federal grant cuts — a pointed reference to the current federal funding climate. Community health workers provide front-line chronic disease prevention and care navigation, disproportionately serving low-income and underserved Tucson residents. This is both a budget fight and a public health story.
4. 🟠 Who Will Run Pima County? Board to Discuss Hiring Process for New Administrator
Item 27 | Not on consent calendar
The Board will discuss and potentially set direction on the process for hiring a new Pima County Administrator, the top unelected official overseeing county government's day-to-day operations. This item has significant governance implications — the County Administrator wields enormous influence over budgeting, departmental management, and policy implementation. Questions about whether the search will be national or local, who will oversee the process, and what qualifications will be prioritized are all unresolved and worth watching.
5. 🟠 Animal Care Center Crisis: $400K More for Vet Supplies as Shelter Hits Twice Its Capacity
Consent Calendar Item 9 | Could pass without discussion
Pima Animal Care Center needs $400,000 more in veterinary supplies because it is currently housing more than twice its kennel capacity, with over 1,300 animals in foster care. The amendment brings the cumulative contract total to $1.7 million. This is a significant indicator of a shelter system under serious strain — the overcrowding detail buried in the contract language deserves its own story. ⚠️ *On consent calendar — could pass without any public discussion.*
6. 🟠 Flood Control and Library District Budgets Head to Public Hearing
Items 11 & 13 (Hearings) | Not on consent calendar
Two separate taxing districts — the Pima County Flood Control District and the Library District — will hold public hearings on their tentative FY2027 budgets. These are separate property tax levies that residents pay on top of general county taxes. With climate-driven flood risk increasing in Southern Arizona and library services under pressure nationwide, both budget decisions merit public attention. The Library District hearing is especially notable given Tuesday's recognition of a 47-year library employee retirement.
7. 🟡 New Street Standards Ordinance Would Create In-Lieu Fee for Developers
Item 24 (Public Hearing) | Not on consent calendar
The Board will consider an ordinance amending the zoning code to establish a new "Preservation Treatment" standard for public streets in new subdivisions, including an in-lieu fee developers can pay instead of meeting full pavement design requirements. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 9-0. As Pima County continues to see new subdivision development, this change could affect road quality and long-term maintenance costs — with the fee structure potentially shifting costs between developers and taxpayers.
8. 🟡 Pima County to Collect $2.8M+ Running Elections for Other Jurisdictions
Consent Calendar Items 3, 4 & 15 | Could pass without discussion
Pima County is entering intergovernmental election services agreements with the City of Tucson ($1.85M), Pima Community College District ($975K), and Town of Marana ($25K) — bringing in nearly $2.85 million in revenue to run elections for partner jurisdictions. This consolidation of election administration is worth noting both as a fiscal story (county government as a service provider) and as context for Pima County's role as the region's election infrastructure backbone heading into the 2026 primary cycle. ⚠️ *On consent calendar — could pass without any public discussion.*
9. 🟡 Rocking K South Bond Issue: $2.35M for Subdivision Infrastructure
Item 19 | Not on consent calendar
The Board, sitting as the Rocking K South Community Facilities District Board, will authorize the issuance of up to $2.35 million in general obligation bonds to finance public infrastructure for the Rocking K South development on Tucson's southeast side. Community Facilities Districts allow developers to pass infrastructure costs to homebuyers through a special property tax levy — a financing mechanism that affects future residents and deserves scrutiny as Tucson-area growth continues.
Note: The consent calendar items flagged above are scheduled to pass as a block without individual votes unless a supervisor or member of the public pulls them for separate discussion. Residents who want to comment on those items should plan to request they be pulled.
Generated 2026-05-20 08:00 by Tucson Daily Brief agenda mining pipeline using claude-sonnet-4-6.
AI-assisted journalism — reviewed by a human editor before publication.
Source: [Pima County Legistar](https://pima.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx)