Pima County Board Asks Arizona Attorney General to Review Sheriff Nanos's Sworn Testimony

TUCSON — The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday, with one abstention, to ask the Arizona Attorney General's office to review allegations of potential perjury by Sheriff Chris Nanos — while explicitly taking no position on whether perjury occurred. A separate motion to declare the sheriff's office vacant failed for lack of a second. The board also received a clean financial audit opinion for fiscal year 2024-25, approved a new building energy code, and heard testimony from a mother whose son died following a failed court-ordered handoff from jail to residential treatment.

Sheriff Referral to Attorney General

The board took action on two related items concerning Nanos during its first-ever 5 p.m. evening meeting. Supervisor Steve Christy moved to declare the sheriff's office vacant and begin immediate replacement proceedings, but the motion failed for lack of a second. Supervisor Rex Scott then moved, on advice of legal counsel, that the board take no action to remove Nanos under Arizona Revised Statute 11-253, while simultaneously referring allegations of potential perjury by the sheriff to the attorney general and taking no position on whether perjury occurred. The motion, seconded by Supervisor Matt Heinz, passed with four votes and one abstention.

Scott said the most troubling aspect of the ongoing situation was the unanimous no-confidence vote by the Pima County Deputies Organization, in which more than 250 members voted against Nanos and none voted in support, though more than 60 abstained. "There really is only one person in that department who can bring all those people together," Scott said, calling on the sheriff to publicly acknowledge the crisis of confidence and present a plan to rebuild trust. Supervisor Andrés Cano noted the board had exercised a "narrowly defined oversight tool" available under statute, adding that 1,500 of the county's 7,000 employees work in the sheriff's department and that the board's focus going forward would be on those public servants. On Dec. 11, 2025, Nanos answered "no" when asked under oath whether he had ever been suspended as a law enforcement officer, a statement multiple speakers at the meeting disputed during public comment.

State Auditor General Presents Clean Opinion, Flags Four Findings

State Auditor General Lindsey Perry presented fiscal year 2024-25 audit results to the board, reporting an unmodified — or clean — opinion on the county's financial statements, meaning they are considered reliable. Perry was joined by Financial Audit Director Catherine Edwards Tucker and audit manager Victoria Fisher.

The county's total net position stood at $2.9 billion as of June 30, 2025, though $2.7 billion of that was invested in capital assets and an additional $480 million was restricted, leaving a negative unrestricted balance of $301 million, primarily due to a $547 million pension liability. Overall revenues decreased by $64.6 million in fiscal year 2025, largely due to the expiration of COVID-19 federal funding, while total expenses increased by $14.1 million. Auditors reported four findings: two financial statement findings, including ongoing IT security deficiencies with a targeted correction date of Dec. 31, 2026, and a cash reconciliation failure in the county school superintendent's office corrected in December 2025; and two federal single audit findings related to grant reporting errors and failure to submit immunization program quarterly reports on time, both with correction targets of June 30, 2027. The board approved acceptance of the audit report 5-0. Supervisor Scott requested that staff incorporate audit finding follow-up into the monthly financial update provided to the board.

Building Energy Code Approved with Amendment

The board approved Ordinance 2026-6, a building code update adopting new energy efficiency standards, on a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Christy dissenting. The Southern Arizona Home Builders Association had submitted letters estimating compliance costs of $1,526 to $1,600 per home in additional construction expense, with a separate estimate from Oro Valley suggesting costs could run $6,000 to $9,000 per home.

A friendly amendment, accepted by the board, directs staff to reconvene the Tucson-Pima Joint Code Committee within 120 days to address two specific concerns: an exemption that would exclude buildings under 50,000 square feet — covering roughly 80% of existing building stock — from additional energy efficiency requirements, and the complete removal of code sections addressing on-site renewable energy installation, energy use monitoring, and automatic receptacle controls. Deputy County Administrator Carmine DeBonis said a joint code committee had already committed to ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, including regular meetings with Southern Arizona Home Builders Association leadership.

Mother Testifies on Son's Death After Failed Probation Handoff

During public comment, Paula Cortez told the board her son Jonathan, 36, died April 2, sixteen days after being released from Pima County Jail following a 90-day sentence for drug use. His sentence included a court-ordered door-to-door handoff directly from jail into a residential treatment program, she said, but the transfer never occurred. Instead, his probation officer gave him a list of phone numbers and asked Cortez to take her son into her home.

Jonathan Cortez relapsed within five days of his release and was transferred to Tucson Medical Center, where he died less than 24 hours later. The medical examiner confirmed his death was caused by a stroke linked to recent drug use. Cortez told the board she had since learned of staffing shortages and overwhelming caseloads at Pima County Adult Probation that prevented officers from properly coordinating treatment placement. Board Chair Allen said after public comment that she would seek information from staff about why the handoff failed and what could be done to prevent similar outcomes.

Also discussed:

The board proclaimed May 14 as Apraxia Awareness Day, May 12-18 as Period Poverty Awareness Week — directing the county administrator to facilitate voluntary donation collection among county employees — May as Hope, Healing and Solutions Month for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, and May 11-15 as Heat Awareness Week, noting 117 heat-related deaths in Pima County in 2025 and a record 100-degree day on March 19, 2026.
The board approved a contract with Arizona Water Company for management of the Ajo Domestic Water Improvement District, which the county is in the process of selling after years of volunteer management.
The board approved an after-action review of the 2026 Regional Transportation Authority special election; Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly and Elections Director Constance Hargrove discussed new ballot-proofing procedures, expanded drop box locations under consideration in Ajo and Sahuarita, and a new law allowing in-person ID verification for early ballot drop-off at vote centers.
Supervisor Scott was appointed 5-0 as the board's liaison to a newly created elections oversight task force.
The board adopted an addendum item waiving the pledge of allegiance and land acknowledgment at study sessions and directed the county administrator to draft a policy governing the number and format of proclamations presented at board meetings.
Pima Animal Care Center staff announced the agency is moving toward an East Side location and launched a $35 neutering program for owned pets in Pima County.
Supervisor Christy raised concerns about library security costs exceeding $1 million over roughly four years, questioning why Pima County Sheriff's deputies were not used to staff county libraries instead of off-duty Tucson Police Department officers; Deputy County Administrator Steve Holmes said some county libraries are inside Tucson city limits.