Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Pima County Board of Supervisors — What to Watch

Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Board of Supervisors' Hearing Room

53 substantive items on the agenda (17 for discussion, 36 on consent calendar)

Pima County Supervisors to Weigh County Administrator Hiring, Leftover Budget Money on Oct. 13

Pima County supervisors will discuss and could act on how the county hires its next county administrator, the top appointed official who runs day-to-day county government. The board will also decide how to spend surplus money from last fiscal year, including a proposed $1 million round of emergency grants for local nonprofits, whether to extend a long-stalled 95-acre rezoning off West Valencia Road, and how to staff the Nov. 3 general election.

1. Board to set the course for hiring the county's top executive

The county administrator oversees thousands of employees and a budget of more than a billion dollars, and is chosen by the five elected supervisors. The District 3 supervisor placed this item on the agenda for "discussion, direction and action," so the board could decide how the search will run, such as the timeline, whether to use a recruiting firm, and how much the public sees. The process will shape who manages county services from roads to public health to the jail.

Regular agenda (discussion item).

2. What to do with leftover money from last year's budget

County staff ended fiscal year 2025/26 with more unspent money than expected, and supervisors will decide how to use it this year. Options named in the county administrator's memo include emergency grants to community groups, "Gap Housing," the One Pima Initiative, the PEEPs program, investments in county employees (which could mean pay), and existing department needs. With money for those items limited, residents can expect supervisors to disagree openly about priorities.

Regular agenda (direction/action item).

3. A new $1 million round of emergency grants for local nonprofits

The District 2 supervisor wants to take about 10% of the county's projected unrestricted surplus ($1 million of a forecast $9.99 million) and award another round of Short-Term Crisis and Emergency Resources (STCER) grants. The program would use the same rules and fast-track process as a round the board approved this spring, with a citizen review committee overseeing applications. The board has now carried this item over from its June 23 and Sept. 22 meetings. The proposal as written called for an August application period, which has already passed, so any approval would likely require new dates.

Regular agenda; unfinished business from June 23 and Sept. 22.

4. Decision on a 95-acre development site north of West Valencia Road

Mark Road, L.L.C. is asking the board to finalize (or "close") a 2006 rezoning on about 95 acres west of Mark Road and roughly 600 feet north of West Valencia Road, in District 5. The rezoning would allow mixed housing types, including denser development, on 44.2 acres and keep the remaining 51.2 acres rural with restrictions. The rezoning was extended in 2011, 2016 and 2021 before expiring in March 2026.

County staff recommend against finalizing it. Instead they recommend a new five-year extension with original and updated conditions. That would keep the project alive but under the county's current terms. The board will take two separate votes, and both are public hearings where residents can speak.

Public hearing; unfinished business from Sept. 22.

5. Fixing paperwork on a $3.8 million federal road-safety grant

Last month the board accepted a $3.8 million federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant, which funds work to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries. The county later found that an earlier draft of the agreement had been signed and filed by mistake. The corrected version changes several pages, including the federal award number, the project schedule, and a total listed on page 4 as $1,646,599. The county says the agreement isn't binding until the board ratifies the correct version, so this vote is needed before the money can flow.

Consent calendar: could pass with no discussion.

6. Election workers and network equipment ahead of Nov. 3

Supervisors will formally appoint the poll workers recruited by the Elections Department for the Nov. 3 general election, as state law requires. A separate consent item adds $200,000 to a contract for Cradlepoint routers bought by the county's IT department for Elections. These devices provide network connections, often used at sites without fixed internet. Both items are part of the county's preparation to run voting three weeks after this meeting.

Poll worker appointments: regular agenda. Router contract: consent calendar.

7. Wildfire prevention pact with the state, and flood warnings below the Bighorn Fire scar

Two linked consent items set up a 10-year agreement with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management to reduce wildfire risk and protect communities, infrastructure and watersheds on county land. Each side's commitment is listed at $200,000. Separately, the board, sitting as the Regional Flood Control District, will accept a $97,602 state grant for a flood warning system tied to the Bighorn Fire scar in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Burned slopes can send fast-moving floods toward homes below during monsoon storms, so the grant matters most to residents downslope.

Wildfire agreements: consent calendar. Bighorn flood-warning grant: regular agenda (Flood Control District).

8. $878,000 more for the county's waste tire program

The Department of Environmental Quality is asking for $878,000 in additional spending authority this fiscal year to meet contract obligations for the Waste Tire Program, which handles disposal and recycling of used tires. The county says the money will come from higher state-shared revenue from Arizona's waste tire fee, the fee drivers pay when buying new tires, not from the general fund.

Regular agenda.

Source: Pima County Legistar

This preview was generated automatically by Claude Opus 5.5 from the Pima County Board of Supervisors' published agenda, and published at 8:02 AM MST on October 8, 2026 without human review. Read more about how this is made.