A short-term housing hack

Offering a second chance … Pensions are expensive … And nobody knows what time it is.

Tucson City Council Paul Cunningham is betting on an ambitious plan to offer a second chance to city residents who have an eviction on their record.

The Ward 2 Councilmember might be best known as a teacher and part-time coach, but Cunningham quietly got his master’s degree in social work and has spent the last few years using his ward office to launch progressive initiatives to help struggling east-side families.

Now, Cunningham wants the council to back a pilot program that would offer up to $2,500 in incentives for people who can’t qualify to rent an apartment on their own, due to bad rental histories, credit, or a criminal background.

Those served by the program would have to qualify and have a steady source of income that allows them to afford their monthly rent without additional subsidies.

The proposed Housing Alternatives and Urban Strength (HAUS) program would help people who are stuck in temporary shelters or living on the street because they can’t pass a credit check for a rental, Cunningham said.

On Friday, Cunningham told the Tucson Agenda that many Tucsonans, even those who work full-time, are chronically unhoused because they can’t qualify for an apartment.

While the city has made progress (in cooperation with Pima County and nonprofit partners) in helping people find jobs and get services, many are unable to afford to leave some of the transitional housing provided regionally — creating a waiting list for other unhoused individuals.

Thanks to the vacancy on the council, Cunningham will only need three votes to move the program forward on Tuesday when the council discusses it during the study session.

Introducing the seventh council member

As we noted on Friday, the Council will appoint someone to fill the vacant Ward 5 seat during a special session Tuesday afternoon.

That person will complete the remaining seven months of Richard Fimbres’ term, who stepped down last week due to health issues.

We asked City Attorney Mike Rankin whether Rocque Perez’s job at the Metro Education Commission (which was established jointly by the City of Tucson and Pima County) would represent a conflict of interest. The MEC receives annual funding from the City of Tucson.

Rankin said Perez’s day job wouldn’t represent a conflict, but he would have to declare a conflict and not participate in any discussions or votes relating to the Commission, including any funding included in the city's budget.

Three things worth noting

1. The city wants a new agreement with the University of Arizona after responding to over 1,000 false fire alarms over the last two years. The city is asking UAPD to first investigate tripped fire alarms before dispatching firefighters.

2. The Council will hear an appeal from an unincorporated Pima County land owner who was denied water service, a reminder of the bigger fight between the city and the county about extending service beyond city limits.

3. The city will hold a public hearing on the city’s next $2.4 billion annual budget, asking residents to weigh in on the proposed budget.

On Tuesday, we’ll cover roughly 12 hours of public meetings — including a live stream on Bluesky. Upgrade to a paid subscription today to help us pay for parking downtown.

CLARIFICATION: We updated Friday’s story on PEEPS with some context about long-term funding for the program.

In this space, we shine a light on the parts of the City of Tucson’s budget that can’t easily be cut.

Today, we’re talking about the $125 million the city set aside for its share of pension contributions for police officers, firefighters and other public safety employees.

The lion’s share, $89 million, comes directly out of the city’s general fund — which is largely supported by sales taxes.

The remaining $36 million comes out of the city’s Section 115 trust — which the city set up several years ago to address an estimated $1.5 billion unfunded liability related to future pension payments to retirees.

Those working for the city also pay into the pension system directly, but their contributions go directly from their paychecks into the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS).

In terms of the $2.4 billion budget, this represents about 5% of the city’s entire budget.

And this number doesn’t include salaries, other benefits or equipment that come with having a police and a fire department.

Pressure makes the world go round: After business leaders pressured Republican U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, and Ciscomani pressured House GOP leadership, the U.S. House postponed a committee hearing where Republicans were expected to find $880 billion in federal savings by slashing Medicaid, the Tucson Sentinel’s Jim Nintzel writes. Ciscomani has voted for the package that calls for the cuts, but not a bill that actually makes the cuts — yet.

A reprieve, for now: A Guatemalan woman who just gave birth to a baby girl at Tucson Medical Center, and whose imminent deportation led to local protests, will be allowed to stay in the country for the time being, the Arizona Daily Star’s Emily Bregel reported. Before the Star alerted the public to the situation, federal immigration officials had said the woman would have to choose between taking her baby, who is a U.S. citizen, with her when she was deported or leave the baby behind.

“I would love to be able to say they (DHS) made the right choice based on humanitarian grounds, but it’s equally evident to me that they made this choice because they were forced to make this choice, based on public pressure,” her lawyer, Luis Campos, said.

That’s still going?: A Pima County Superior Court judge backed Pima County Justice of the Peace Ray Carroll’s decision to not throw out trespassing charges against four protesters who were arrested outside Raytheon in 2023, per the Green Valley News. Carroll had declined to dismiss charges and the protesters appealed. The case is back before Carroll.

Looking for revenue: Tucson officials are going to extend the hours they charge to park in the downtown area, the Mercado District, and the Main Gate area near the University of Arizona campus, the City of Tucson said in a news release. Right now, parking meters are in effect 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. But starting June 2, the hours will extend to 7 p.m. on weekdays and include Saturdays. This could be the sign of what’s to come. City officials proposed extending parking meter hours in October and at their most recent meeting the Tucson City Council talked about using parking meters (currently $1 an hour) as a way to raise revenue to deal with upcoming budget issues.

I-19 meets America First: The Wall Street Journal took a roadtrip along I-19 to ask the locals (and Tucker Carlson) whether it’s unAmerican to measure an American highway in kilometers. The answer they found (mostly) won’t surprise you! And the Green Valley News’ Dan Shearer appropriately mocks the whole affair while providing some helpful backstory.

“No surprise that Carlson wasn’t completely correct. But neither was the Wall Street Journal,” Shearer writes.

Arizona was prominently mentioned in popular Youtuber Hank Green’s recent upload listing “some of the dumbest” time zones.

While we didn’t make the top of the list, Green lauded Arizona as the “least dumb, but still dumb” for ditching the whole daylight savings nonsense.

“I applaud Arizona for the bravery for showing us that this is possible, but oh my god it is dumb that no one knows what time it is in one of the 50 states. Like, I have friends in Arizona and I never know. I have to Google it every time," Green said.

He’s right, but we’ll take solace that we didn’t make it to the top of his list.