Water use up this year
Oro Valley Water Revenues are projected to be $1.1 million ahead of budget, according to Mary Rallis, Oro Valley Water Administator. Expenses for the year are expected to be at or slightly below budget. 2020 was a hot and dry year. According the Oro Water Director Peter Abraham, water demand directly correlates with the number of days of intense heat. This is compared to 2018 and 2019, which were wet years. We also suspect that there was more than planned water use because there was less travel and more "staying at home" because of the pandemic.Town engages consultant to analyze PSPRS funding options
The Town, like all cities and towns Arizona, has underfunded is police pension fund. As a result, the town council approved a policy to fund the pension by contributing more than the required amount to the state each year. That policy will fund the pension fully by 2036, as we recall. "The town is now engaging a third-party, independent consultant to analyze and present options relating to PSPRS pension funding for the Town, with the intent of determining which option is most financially advantageous in dealing with the PSPRS unfunded liability over time. This analysis may impact the PSPRS pension funding policy revisions." The objective is to present a commission approved plan to council on April 7.The "NIMBY" Apartment Problem
Earlier this week we spoke with Council Member Joyce Jones-Ivey. One of the topics we discussed are apartment in Oro Valley. We referred her to our posting of October 27 on future rezoning hearings to support more apartment in our town. Three are more than 1,748 potential units in seven complexes. Five of the seven will require rezoning and council approval. 95% of these units will be on Oracle Road. This adds to the fact that Oracle Road is already host to most apartments.We asked Jones-Ivey if clustering all of the apartments on Oracle Road met the goal of “diverse housing” as defined in the general plan. In our mind, there is no diversity if everything is clustered in one area. Thing is: The town has a NIMBY problem.
“That’s the issue,” Jones-Iven observed. “Nobody wants them. Who’s going to complain if they are on Oracle Road?
