Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Pima County Board of Supervisors — What to Watch

Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Board of Supervisors' Hearing Room

40 substantive items on the agenda (19 for discussion, 21 on consent calendar)

Pima County Board of Supervisors: What's on the Agenda for August 11, 2026

The Board will take up the process for hiring a new County Administrator — one of the most consequential personnel decisions county government makes — while also voting on where residents will cast ballots in November, adopting a three-year economic blueprint, and weighing a contentious appeal over a wireless tower near a rural West Side ranch road.

1. Who Runs Pima County? Board to Set Course on Hiring New Administrator

Items 17 & 18 | Discussion items

The Board will discuss and give direction on the process for hiring the next County Administrator, the top unelected executive who oversees day-to-day government operations and a workforce of thousands. Separately, supervisors will vote to add a special October 20 meeting — a full afternoon block, held in executive (closed) session — specifically to conduct candidate interviews. The County Administrator position shapes everything from road maintenance to public health to the sheriff's budget, making this hiring process one of the most significant decisions the Board makes between elections.

2. Where You'll Vote in November: Board to Designate 2026 General Election Vote Centers

Item 23 | Discussion item

Under Arizona law, the Board must formally designate the specific locations where Pima County residents can cast in-person ballots in the November 3, 2026 General Election. The vote determines which schools, libraries, fire stations, and other facilities serve as vote centers — decisions that directly affect how convenient or burdensome voting is for residents across a geographically sprawling county. With a competitive election cycle underway, the placement and number of sites carries real stakes for voter access.

3. Dozens of School Board Seats Going Uncontested — Several Left Vacant

Item 25 | Discussion item

State law allows the Board of Supervisors to cancel uncontested school board races and simply appoint the candidates who filed paperwork, saving the cost of running those contests. This cycle, thirteen school districts and Pima Community College have uncontested positions — but buried in the list are multiple vacancies where nobody filed at all: Empire Elementary has three open seats with no candidates, Pima County JTED District 3 has one vacancy, and Redington and San Fernando elementary districts each have an unfilled seat. Those boards will have to govern shorthanded or find another path to fill the gaps.

4. Pima County's Three-Year Economic Game Plan Up for Adoption

Item 22 | Discussion item

Supervisors will vote on adopting the Economic Development Strategic Plan for 2026–2029, the county's formal roadmap for job growth, business attraction, and workforce development over the next three years. Strategic plans like this set the priorities that drive grant applications, staffing decisions, and partnerships with industry — and in a region still navigating post-pandemic economic shifts and competition from Sun Belt neighbors, the direction the county chooses now will shape which businesses and jobs land here versus somewhere else.

5. Neighbors Fight Wireless Tower Permit Near West-Side Ranch Road

Item 15 | Public hearing

Ryan and Lindsay Chastain are appealing a Hearing Administrator's decision that approved a new wireless communications tower at 15949 W. Diamond Bell Ranch Road — a rural area in District 3. The permit was granted with conditions, but the Chasteins are asking the full Board to overturn it. Cell tower appeals put the Board squarely in the middle of competing priorities: the need for better rural wireless coverage versus the concerns of nearby property owners about visual impact, property values, and the character of undeveloped land.

6. County Adopts Its 2027 State Legislative Agenda

Item 19 | Discussion item

The Board will vote on a resolution formally adopting Pima County's Legislative Program for 2027 — the official list of priorities, positions, and asks the county will carry to the Arizona Legislature when the next session opens. At a time when state-local tensions over immigration enforcement, land use preemption, and funding formulas remain high, what Pima County puts on — or leaves off — this list signals where supervisors are willing to fight and where they expect to lose. The document functions as the county's political playbook in Phoenix for the coming year.

7. County to Update Its Weapons-in-Buildings Policy

Item 20 | Discussion item

Staff is recommending revisions to Board of Supervisors Policy C 2.7, which governs the prohibition of weapons in county facilities and vehicles. The specifics of what is changing will be spelled out in the attached policy document, but any update to a weapons policy at government buildings — where the public, employees, and elected officials all interact — carries significant implications for security protocols and legal exposure, particularly given ongoing debates statewide about firearms in public spaces.

8. Arizona Water Company Asset Sale Gets County Sign-Off

Item 10 | Discussion item — no cost to county

The Board, sitting in its capacity as a separate governing body, will consider an Asset Purchase Agreement under which Arizona Water Company would sell the assets it uses to provide water utility services. Water infrastructure ownership and control is a perennial pressure point in the arid Southwest, and any change in who holds the pipes, wells, and treatment systems that serve a community can have long-term consequences for rates, reliability, and regulatory oversight. The agreement is listed at no cost to the county, but the Board's approval is a required step in the transaction moving forward.

ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR — Could Pass Without Discussion

Family Planning Services Contract — $509,500 *(Consent Item 13)* The county would accept a grant from Arizona Family Health Partnership (doing business as Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health) to provide family planning services at community health centers. Given the political environment around reproductive health services in Arizona following recent legal and legislative battles, this contract — though it may sail through without debate — is worth noting.

Child Care Health Consultation Grant — $912,450 *(Consent Item 11)* First Things First funding for child care health consultation would be extended and amended. Child care access remains a top workforce barrier for working families across Pima County, making this grant renewal consequential even on the consent calendar.

Children's Advocacy Center Forensic Exam Contract — $455,000 *(Consent Item 1)* An amendment extending the Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center's contract to provide forensic medical exams and evidence collection for juvenile abuse cases through June 2027. This is core infrastructure for child protection investigations in the region.

Source: Pima County Legistar