Tuesday, September 08, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Pima County Board of Supervisors — What to Watch

Tuesday, September 08, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Board of Supervisors' Hearing Room

48 substantive items on the agenda (27 for discussion, 21 on consent calendar)

Pima County Board of Supervisors: What to Watch Tuesday, September 8, 2026

The Board of Supervisors will decide how to spend nearly $10 million in affordable housing funds — and whether to finalize who runs the county government going forward — when it meets Tuesday morning. The meeting also takes up energy building codes, emergency management funding, changes to how the county handles economic development secrecy agreements, and a new power substation near Ajo Highway.

1. $9.7 Million in Affordable Housing on the Table

Item 29 — Pima County Regional Affordable Housing Commission and Proposed FY27 Housing Budget

The Regional Affordable Housing Commission is asking the Board to direct $8.7 million in already-budgeted dollars toward affordable housing — $5 million for gap funding to help finance new housing projects and $3.7 million to keep existing programs running that prevent evictions and homelessness. On top of that, the commission wants supervisors to add another $1 million in gap funding, bringing the total request to $9.7 million. With housing costs continuing to squeeze Tucson-area residents, how supervisors allocate this money will shape what affordable housing gets built or preserved over the coming year.

This is a discussion item and will require a vote.

2. Who Will Run Pima County? Administrator Search Moves Forward

Item 22 — County Administrator Hiring Process

Supervisors will discuss and potentially set direction on the process for hiring a new County Administrator — the top professional position that manages day-to-day county operations, oversees roughly 7,000 employees, and implements board policy. Decisions made here, including whether to use a national search firm, what qualifications to require, and what timeline to follow, will determine who leads a government with a budget exceeding $1.5 billion. This is one of the most consequential personnel decisions the board makes.

This is a discussion item.

3. Should Building Codes Require More Energy Efficiency? Board Revisits the Question.

Item 27 — 2024 International Energy Conservation Code Amendments

The board is being asked to reconsider its position on amendments to the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code, which sets minimum standards for how energy-efficient new homes and commercial buildings must be. The item comes back after a 120-day directive from the board, meaning supervisors earlier sent staff to gather more information before making a final call. Stricter energy codes can lower utility bills for homeowners long-term but can raise upfront construction costs — a tension that has made building code updates politically contentious in fast-growing Arizona communities.

This is a discussion item.

4. $1 Million for Emergency Management — With a Warning Attached

Item 32 — Contingency Request for Office of Emergency Management General Fund

Staff is asking supervisors to pull $1,017,000 from the General Fund contingency reserve to keep the Office of Emergency Management running through the current fiscal year. The request comes with an explicit recommendation that the board bake ongoing OEM funding into future budgets — language that signals the office has been operating without a stable, recurring funding base. OEM coordinates the county's response to wildfires, floods, and other disasters across all of Pima County's roughly 9,000 square miles.

This is a discussion item.

5. New Rules Proposed for Economic Development Secrecy and Scrutiny

Items 25 & 26 — Updates to BOS Policies on NDAs and Enhanced Due Diligence

Two related policy updates would revise how Pima County handles confidentiality and vetting in economic development deals. Item 25 updates the policy governing when the county can sign non-disclosure agreements with companies it is trying to recruit or partner with. Item 26 updates the process for conducting enhanced due diligence — deeper background review — on prospective economic development partners. Taken together, the changes reflect lessons from past deals and will determine how much the public can know about who the county is courting for business investment, and how carefully those partners are screened before public dollars are committed.

These are discussion items.

6. New Power Substation Proposed Near Ajo Highway

Item 19 — TEP 138kV Power Substation Permit, W. Ajo Highway (Public Hearing)

Tucson Electric Power, working through the State of Arizona, is seeking approval to build a 138-kilovolt electrical substation on roughly 15 acres along West Ajo Highway, southwest of its intersection with South Spencer Avenue. The site is zoned Suburban Ranch. Substations at this voltage level are major transmission infrastructure — the kind that feeds power to large portions of a grid — making this a significant piece of Tucson's long-term electrical capacity. Staff recommends approval with conditions. Residents can weigh in at the public hearing.

This is a public hearing item.

7. Nearly $1 Million for Prosecutor's Case Management Software — On Consent

Consent Item 3 — Karpel Computer Systems, Prosecutor Case Management System, $974,000

The county is set to approve a three-year, $974,000 contract with Karpel Computer Systems for software the County Attorney's Office uses to manage criminal cases from charging through disposition. The system tracks defendants, evidence, court dates, and outcomes across thousands of cases each year. Because it is on the consent calendar, it is likely to pass without debate unless a supervisor pulls it for separate discussion.

This item is on the consent calendar.

8. Search and Rescue Contract Stuck in Limbo Since July

Item 21 — Unfinished Business: Southern Arizona Rescue Association Contract

Carried over from the July 14 meeting, this item asks the board to finalize a contract with the Southern Arizona Rescue Association — the volunteer group that conducts wilderness rescues in the Rincon, Santa Catalina, and other mountain ranges around Tucson — and to approve $100,000 in funding from a source the County Administrator has yet to identify. The fact that this contract has gone unsigned since at least mid-July raises questions about whether the organization has been operating without a finalized agreement, and where the funding will ultimately come from.

This is a discussion item.

Source: Pima County Legistar