Meet Our New Council: Joyce Jones-Ivey

The Jones-Ivey ground game
"The ground game was all important. I knew that I needed to get out to the community and find out what it was they wanted." Thus, began our conversation at Kneaders over tea with one of Oro Valley's three new council members, Joyce Jones-Ivey.

 Joyce began canvassing the community last February, right after she picked up her council candidate packet. She never stopped. "I started at the library at the opening ...and sometimes I stayed until closing," she noted. She walked Sun City, door-to-door. "We started at 10 o'clock in the morning and finished up around 4 or 5 in the evening. I wanted people to know that I had a heart for the concerns of the community."

Have a conversation with Joyce Jones-Ivey. You see that she is enthusiastic about her new job, excited to serve people of Oro Valley, respectful of you as an individual, and a lady full of hope for our community.

Overdevelopment completely changes the character of the community
"This is my third small community that I've lived in. The common thread among all of them was the over-development that was going on." One community grew to the point where she knew no-one. "I missed that small town feeling. The bureaucracy was just cumbersome to get your voice heard."

"They are going to blow this community up? Are you kidding me?"
So, Joyce, her husband Jesse (29 years with LAPD) and son Adam, sought a place to live. She looked at Marana but, in 2016, picked Oro Valley. "I came into Oro Valley. It was beautiful-just breathtaking....Then I started noticing the yellow signs. There were a lot of them. I started going to neighboorheed meetings." She couldn't believe what she heard. She thought: "They are going to blow this community up? Are you kidding me?"

They are not hearing us
Joyce observed that at council meetings residents got our 3 minutes [to speak] but we couldn't get anybody to listen to us. It was a waste of time. The developer got an hour." She continued "My, the way we were treated. If you disagreed, you were summarily dismissed. These are our elected officials. We voted them in office. And they are treating us like this?"

So, she decided to run for Council to change the attitude of leadership from developer to resident centric.

A "full-full" person
Joyce is a family person. She is one of 9 in her primary family. She has a twin sister who lives in Marana. She assured us that we can tell the difference so there will be no "substituting" at council meetings. "She wears an afro." Joyce is proudest of being "Adam's Mom!"

Joyce has met every challenge she's faced. And the Oro Valley council job will be her next one. But, from what we learned in our conversation with Joyce, it won't be her last one. "I love learning. I'm not very sure where I'm going to stop in this world."
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Town Council Candidates collecting signatures at Oro Valley Library this week

Mayoral candidate Joe Winfield and Town Council candidates Melanie Barrett, Joyce Jones-Ivey, and Josh Nicolson will be collecting signatures this week at the Oro Valley Public Library during the Library Book Sale. They need to collect at least 345 signatures in order to be placed on the ballot for the Town Council primary election in August.

Please stop by to meet them and sign the petitions. NOTE: Petitions for all four candidates will be available to sign during the hours listed even if a candidate is not present that day.

Wednesday, April 25th

Joe Winfield   9 - 11 AM
Melanie Barrett   9 - 11 AM
Josh Nicolson   9 - 11 AM
Joyce Jones-Ivey   9 AM to Noon

Thursday, April 26th

Joe Winfield   9 - 11 AM
Joyce Jones-Ivey   3 - 5 PM

Friday, April 27th

Joe Winfield   9 - 11 AM
Joyce Jones-Ivey   9 - 11 AM

Saturday, April 28th

Melanie Barrett   9 - 10:30 AM
Joyce Jones-Ivey   9 - 11 AM
Joe Winfield   9 AM until (to be determined)

Introducing Joyce Jones-Ivey, Candidate for Oro Valley Town Council

Introduction
Joyce is one of nine siblings whose parents instilled in them the value of honesty, integrity, hard work, and treating others with dignity and respect. She has been married for 40 years to Jesse, a retired Los Angeles Police Officer and they have one son. Joyce grew up in Altadena, CA. She was employed as a Registered Nurse Practitioner for 42 years before retiring and moving to Oro Valley in 2016.

Education
• Associate of Science in Nursing; Pasadena City College, 1974
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Nurse Practitioner; California State University, 1977
• Bachelor of Divinity, Suffield University, 2005

Experience
• 7 years – Boehringer Manheim Sales Rep.
      Primary responsibility was as Contract Negotiator for LA County Health Care System
• 5 years - Small business owner (Arts and Crafts store)
• 7 years - Nurse Manager for OB-GYN Unit at Harris County Health Care System
• Registered Nurse Practitioner for 42 years

What I plan to achieve as your councilmember
• Keep Oro Valley a safe and family-friendly community
• Maintain the Town’s financial stability
• Responsible growth that preserves our Town’s scenic beauty
• Adhere to the guiding principles of the General Plan
• Represent you and your concerns with honesty, integrity,
      and transparency
• Be the voice of the community

Campaign Issues
• Citizens being ignored and treated rudely by the mayor
      and council
• Making the Town Council more accountable to the citizens
• Town Council approving developments that do not adhere to the General Plan
• Solving the Town’s golf operation problem
• Councilmembers receiving substantial campaign donations from local land developers

Read more about Joyce at her Website HERE  (www.jjonesivey4ov.org)

Facebook: Joyce Jones-Ivey for Town Council

Excerpts from June 28, 2022 Town Council Candidate Forum: Statements of Nicolson and Joyce-Ivey

Today, LOVE is presenting excerpts from the Opening and Closing Statements by Councilmembers Josh Nicolson and Joyce Jones-Ivey during the Town Council Candidate Forum held on June 28th. LOVE added the subheadings.

You can watch the entire Candidate Forum HERE on the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce website.
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Josh Nicolson Opening Statement

Background
I was born and raised in Arizona. I went to school to be an airline pilot and air traffic controller. I moved to Arizona 10 years ago with my beautiful wife and 2 young daughters. Since I joined the Council 4 years ago, I’ve been the Chamber of Commerce liaison, I was on the Budget and Finance Commission when we were doing the Police Pension Bond, and also on Visit Tucson.

Police/Public Safety
Very early on, I pushed to fix our police pension that was growing like a credit card at 7% a year. It ended up being $27 million underfunded. With the recommendation of Stifel Consulting, our newly elected Budget and Finance Commission, and our Town CFO, we ended up using $10 million of our savings to secure a bond at historically low 2.4% interest. This is going to save our taxpayers $30 million over 20 years. This $30 million in savings affords us to give our police officers a raise. They are now the highest paid officers in Southern Arizona. As many police departments throughout the nation are struggling to recruit new officers, our officers have a fully funded pension and the highest pay in Southern Arizona. This will help in recruiting and retaining the best police force.

Town Golf
As many know, I live on the Conquistador Golf Course and that was one of the things we had to tackle the very first year we were in office. We changed operators from Troon to Indigo and we opened up all the holes to public play. This is saving us millions of dollars. We used this extra cash flow to finance the golf course irrigation, build in Naranja park, tennis courts, and many more without any new taxes.

I appreciate your time tonight and I do appreciate everyone getting involved in coming to this Chamber event because it’s important for our citizens to be involved in our local government.

Josh Nicolson Closing Statement
Note: Nicolson set aside his prepared closing statement and opted instead to use his remaining time to address accusations made by candidate Bill Rodman regarding a lack of transparency on the current council.

I want to address one thing -- the transparency.
When Bill [Rodman] is talking about transparency, he’s talking about Executive Session. Executive Sessions are when we have to deal with contracts, hiring, firing, those types of things. Yes, we did have a lot of Executive Sessions because we inherited a whole lot of issues from the prior council.

But what were the results from those Executive Sessions?
We did several Executive Sessions on golf. There was a huge contract. We saved $2 million on golf. We hired our wonderful police chief, Chief Riley. We preserved Vistoso from being developed. We hired Judge Hazel. We annexed Westward Look gaining $800,000 in tax revenue for Oro Valley residents. So I want you to look at transparency. We are transparent, but when you do Executive Sessions, it’s regarding contracts, it’s for legal advice. It’s not talking behind closed doors against the citizens.

Joyce Jones-Ivey Opening Statement

Background
I am a retired 42-year ob-gyn nurse practitioner. I’m married to Jesse Ivey who was a 29-year servant of the LAPD and is also retired. I have lived in Oro Valley for six years now. For the past four years that I’ve been on council, I’ve had the privilege to not only serve, but also be liaison to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board as well as our Amphi school district.

Parks and Recreation
Our community has, since I’ve been on council, has expressed a desire for diversity in outdoor activities for both our seniors and our growing young families. This is a passion for me, that safe parks and a safe community is the best way we can continue to improve the quality of life for all our town residents.

Why I’m running for re-election
I’m running for re-election so we can finish the accomplishments of our first term and strategically and responsibly continue our town’s growth and economic needs. Thank you.

Joyce Jones-Ivey Closing Statement

Oro Valley is a better place today because we have listened to residents and made decisions that benefit all in our community – saving town golf, supporting Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve, expanding Naranja Park, all while improving town finances and continuing to ensure we remain one of the safest towns in Arizona.

I am asking for your vote to continue working to make and keep Oro Valley the best place to live in Arizona.

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Vice-Mayor Barrett and Councilmember Jones-Ivey Reveal Their Personal Experiences With Councilmember Solomon’s Uncivil Behavior

Statement from Councilmember Joyce Jones-Ivey
"The short video of Councilmember Solomon [verbally] attacking me has been circulating on social media and supporters have asked me to provide some background. First, this verbal assault was not a unique incident; rather it is representative of how Mr. Solomon speaks down to females he disagrees with or who dare to challenge his positions.

In my first meeting with Mr. Solomon at the 2018 Chamber of Commerce candidate debate, he verbally assaulted me and then candidate Melanie Barrett in front of several bystanders. It seems Mr. Solomon did not agree with our debate positions.

Council Member Jones-Ivey

In the video taken from a 2019 council meeting, we were discussing the OVPD Chief selection process when Member Solomon launched his attack to silence me. There have been numerous other situations when residents were talked down to and disrespected by Member Solomon who, in 2016, ran on civility and collaboration.

I agree that civility and collaboration is exactly what Oro Valley needs and the path to get there is to replace incumbents Rodman and Solomon with Bill Garner and Tim Bohen who will place residents first."

Statement from Vice-Mayor Melanie Barrett

Vice Mayor Barrett

"My fellow councilmember, Joyce Jones-Ivey, has shared her feelings on the video of Steve Solomon yelling at her. This is especially sad because it follows [his] theme of constantly falsely accusing other councilmembers and citizens that we don’t care about public safety.

Joyce is a long-time nurse and the wife of a long-time police officer. She and her family have spent their lives in public service, and she is a wonderful, kind, fair person whom I admire. It is inappropriate to yell at her and insinuate that others do not care about our community and their safety.

The first time I met Councilmember Solomon was at a debate, and as Councilmember Jones-Ivey mentions, he began yelling at both of us, and only stopped when a friend stepped in and offered to call security. Since then, he has regularly gone after me in council meetings and has violated the rules of order by which the council operates."

LOVE’s comment
That’s right, Steve Solomon’s behavior was so violent, that a bystander had to intervene and threaten to call security during the 2018 incident and Mayor Winfield had to threaten to have him removed from council chambers during the 2019 incident. Solomon is unfit for public office and needs to be voted out in the August 4th election.

Bits and Pieces

Community Center and Golf Financials as of May 31st
With one month left to go in the fiscal year, Troon Golf has LOST $1,746,137. They have now updated their year end golf losses forecast from $1,822,941 to $1,988,548.

Troon food and beverage (Overlook Restaurant) LOST $6,532 in May for a total of $87,478 for the FY, so far.

The Community Center Fund is $66,506 in the RED. The Town Council still needs to pay back this year’s $120,000 reimbursement to the General Fund. Remember that the Town Council borrowed $1.2 million from the General Fund to start the CCF in May 2015 with a promise to refund it at $120,000 per year. They have yet to make good on that promise.

Mayor Hiremath appears to be worried about Joe Winfield’s Campaign
At the June 6th council meeting, when discussing the FY 2018/19 budget, Mayor Hiremath made the following comment:

“When I look at the Capital Improvement Program, I think there’s some confusion about the playground equipment. Playground equipment for Naranja Park site was included in FY 22/23 but we moved it up to next fiscal year, correct? And that’s to the tune of $350,000. So in plain English, there’s going to be a playground in the next fiscal year. It’s going to be in the budget.”

Finance Director, Stacey Lemos confirmed that he was correct.

Isn’t it fascinating that playground equipment was not scheduled until FY 2022/23 but when mayoral candidate, Joe Winfield, made it an issue in his campaign, suddenly playground equipment was moved up to the FY 2019/20 budget? However, keep in mind that this is tentative as that budget will not be voted on by the Town Council until June 2019.

The mayor appears to be worried in general
The challengers for Oro Valley Town Council held a voter registration drive and campaign event on July 4th. Although they were originally promised space in a prime location next to all the other vendors, when they showed up for the event, they were told by a Town staff member that all political candidates were being moved to another location in a far corner of the field. Of note is that they were the only political candidates who were setting up a table in the park that day. Why would they be moved to a less visible spot? It was very obvious that someone was trying to move them out of sight.

The Public Safety Stunt
Hiremath-Hornat-Snider-Waters pull the public safety stunt during every election. They try to instill FEAR into the voters by implying that public safety will suffer if they are not re-elected. FACT: We had a strong police department long before the current council was in office and we’ll continue to have one long after they are out of office. It’s utter nonsense to believe that Joe Winfield, Melanie Barrett, Josh Nicolson, or Joyce Jones-Ivey would want to weaken the police force in the very town where they and their children live.

From our Readers
LOVE receives lots of messages from our readers, the majority of which are positive. Below are some examples.

“Thank you for telling the truth about the politics of Oro Valley. Great reports written by a variety of Oro Valley citizens who seek to educate about what is really happening in this town.”

“I have followed Mr. Leonard’s research on the El Con golf course issue. I find his insights exceedingly thorough and sensible.”

“You are providing a great service to this town. Thank you. The people deserve to know the truth.”

Of course we also receive some negative feedback…all from the same person. Long-time LOVE readers will know who it is. This person is known in Oro Valley political circles as “the hit man…the evil trickster…the curmudgeon.” Last week, the curmudgeon expressed his annoyance with our recent article, “Tucson Association of Realtors spreading Town Council election falsehoods.”

Below is an excerpt of his comments followed by our editor’s response.

“The LOVE blog is totally out of control. What started the entire moratorium discussion is the platform statement of Joyce Jones-Ivey. ‘She will advocate for a moratorium on development.’

Ms. Barrett put out a statement… ‘We will take a temporary pause on large scale re-zonings while we assess the needs and desires of our community.’

What the hell is the difference between moratorium and temporary pause?…What happens to the Planning and Zoning Department during this ‘temporary’ moratorium? Will they be placed on leave of absence? There certainly will be little to do.”

LOVE Editor’s Response
Your comments are quite humorous. After all, for years, you did nothing but complain about the LOVE blog when Richard was the editor. Now you claim that the new editor is tarnishing Richard's reputation!

Also, the only way you could know that "What started the entire moratorium discussion is the platform statement of Joyce Jones-Ivey" is if YOU are the person who provided the false information to TAR.

Regarding your concern about Planning Staff being placed on a leave of absence due to a building moratorium, you are implying that we must continue building just for the sake of keeping the Planning Department staff employed. It is not the mayor’s job to create work for the sole purpose of keeping Town staff employed. The mayor and council are elected to work for the citizens, not for the Planning Staff, and not for developers. Unfortunately, this concept has always been lost on you.

The quotation you supplied from Melanie Barrett is proof that the challengers have no plans for a complete moratorium on all building, only a temporary pause on large scale rezonings.

Our editorial was factual. We're sorry if you have trouble accepting facts. We will not be responding to any more of your emails. We have much more important work to do.

Sincerely,
LOVE Editor

Winfield and Council Incumbents Seek Reelection

This morning, Mayor Winfield announced that he and council members Barrett, Joyce-Ivey and Nicolson are running for reelection. The following is his statement.

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Dear Friends, 

It's my honor to serve our community as Mayor for the Town of Oro Valley. Today, I am announcing that I will run for re-election this year and would appreciate your vote. Four years ago, I announced my candidacy to become your mayor because I felt the Oro Valley residents needed to be heard and deep pocket contributors had the appearance of unduly influencing Town Council decisions. I believed that Oro Valley needed "a new direction" where everyone has an equal voice on matters related to its future.

Joining me were Councilmembers Melanie Barrett, Joyce Jones-Ivey, and Josh Nicolson. We ran and were elected as a team and have been honored to serve the citizens of Oro Valley for four years. We will run as a team again in 2022. We will run a self and resident funded campaign to ensure that council decisions are made in the best interest of the Town. We invite you to join us and welcome donations from residents who want an independent Town Council representing them. We want to build upon and and expand the many successes the Town has experienced under our leadership and make Oro Valley the best place to live, work, and play in Arizona.

Your Council has been extremely supportive of Public Safety. In 2019, we approved funding for four new police officers. After conducting a nationwide search for a new police chief we appointed the best candidate for the job, Chief Kara Riley. Her selection was strongly endorsed by residents and Community leaders, and she has since been voted the Best Public Official in Northwest Tucson. Under her leadership the Oro Valley Police Department has thrived and has started an officer wellness program, added a mental health specialist, and texting to reach 911. In 2021 are police officers saved 11 lives. While public safety was under attacked elsewhere, we increased funding for our Police Department.

Our commitment to fiscal responsibility and our police officers led us to solve the problem of our underfunded police pension liability, which will save the Town up to $30 million dollars. When we came into office, the Town had $27 million in unfunded police pension obligations. We recently paid $10 million of our excess reserves, gained through prudent budgeting, towards the debt, and financed $17.6 million at a record-low interest rate of 2.4% to save the Town millions of dollars and guarantee that the police who protect us every day have fully funded retirements.

We have supported responsible growth in the community. In 2020 to 2021, there has been a 12% increase in new business, and 30 new businesses added. We negotiated the annexation of the Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort & Spa, bringing new revenues to the Town. We are bringing in new employers like Leonardo Electronics US who will invest $100 million in a new Oro Valley plant and add 170 high-quality jobs to Oro Valley.

We promised to bring common sense solutions to the challenge of the Town's significant golf course losses. We chose to retain the courses, and operate them as municipal courses. Through changing operators, running more efficiently, and increasing play we have been able to save over $1 million every year in golf losses. 

The Parks and Recreation department oversaw the installation of the popular and widely used Naranja Park playground which opened in 2020. The Town also conducted an extensive Parks and Recreation master planning process, including resident surveys, public input, public meetings, staff contributions, professional design, and more. This led the Council to change the "golf and community center" sales tax to be more equitably used for any parks and recreation amenity in our community. Using the money saved by fixing the golf operations and the growth in the recreation tax revenues, the Council approved a $25 million bond at 2.3% interest to fund the highest priority recreation needs. The Park's bond funds will nearly build-out Naranja Park with new fields and amenities, rebuild the Community Center tennis courts and parking lot, rebuild golf course irrigation and add to our expanding multi-use path network to provide pedestrian and bike connectivity to Naranja Park and the Community Center.

The best news is that these substantial recreation investments that benefit the entire community will be mostly funded from savings in Town golf subsidies! There will be no new sales or property taxes required for these expanded amenities. As exciting as these developments are, most are just underway and will take several years to be completed.

I am running with my fellow Councilmembers for re-election because after starting Oro Valley in a new, collaborative direction, we want to finish the job. I want to keep working for you as your Mayor, to make Oro Valley the best place in Arizona for our current and future residents to live, work, and play.

I invite you to join and support our team in running this resident focused and funded campaign for re-election to serve you. Your vote matters, please vote to re-elect Joe Winfield, Melanie Barrett, Joyce Jones-Ivey, and Josh Nicolson!

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Source

One Word Sums Up Last Week's Town Council Capital Budget Study Session: "Laughable"

Laughable

Last week, we reported on the latest staff recommendations on the Town of Oro Valley Ten Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The town council held a study session on the program last Wednesday. In our minds, the study session was laughable. The session left more questions than it answered.  Here are our takeaways:

Study session occurred too late at night
There’s really no way to have a productive study session late into the evening, especially after the Council has already discussed pressing matters. In addition, just before this study session, the Council had already sat through a study session on the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve Master Plan.

The CIP study session was so late in the evening that, by the time Council Member Joyce Jones-Ivey was asked if she had any questions, she was literally giddy. After all, she had been in that room for almost six hours.  Jones-Ivey started laughing and couldn’t stop. We don’t blame her because having a session on something as important as capital spending so late at night is ridiculous. That topic requires a "clear, fresh mind."  In addition, Joyce pointed out that the tiny font used on the schedules that staff provided was way too small to be read by a human being! She is right!

A $3.2 million magistrate court project...
Next year, the Town will start remodeling the Magistrate Court.  The estimated cost for that is $1.5 million each of the next two years. We have no idea why staff proposes this project or why it is proposed for next year because...

...With no detail provided on that or on any proposed project

We cannot tell you more about the Magistrate Court Project, or any other project really, because the packet provided to the Council does not include a detailed description of the project, a description of exactly what is to be done, the reason or justification for doing that project, the return or benefit from doing the project and the basis for the estimated cost of the project. All of of this is best practice in capital budgeting. All of this is missing from the council packet. It is no wonder that Jones-Ivey was laughing because what the Council received last week was laughable.

Thus requiring Council to get "down in the weeds"
Town staff is budgeting replacing "circuit three" street lights in Sun City. Barrett wants that circuit replaced sooner rather than later. Winfield asked why the town should continue to provide street lights in Sun City. After all, Sun City is the only place in town that has street lights. He was informed by staff that the street lights are there for historical reasons. Owning and maintaining those lights was part of the agreement when the town annexed Sun City 45+ years ago. Winfield suggested that is is time to re-examine that situation.

Finding discrepancies accounting among funds
It is necessary for the Council to "get down in the weeds."  Some members of this Council, Tim Bohen in particular, are good at doing that. His tracking of fund transfers, for example, reveals confusing accounting between the Community Center Fund (CCF) and the CIP.

According to Town Finance Director Gephart: “The one that I will highlight is the elevator and the ADA improvements to the Community Center.” These are included in the CIP Fund at the moment. According to Vice Mayor Barrett, these costs are supposed to be in the Community Center Fund. Barrett noted that “The motion for the elevator said that the additional funding would come from the Community Center Fund, so what would happen if we end up paying for all that from the Capital Fund? Would there be a transfer from the Community Center Fund?”. Gephart responded: “Yes. There would be a transfer as long as funds are available.”

Then, there are capital costs related to the creation of the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve. These are included in the CCF capital budget. They belong in the CIP budget.

No basis provided by staff to Council for prioritizing projects
The staff did not provide nor does the Council have a method for prioritizing projects. Having such is best practice of a capital budgeting process. Council Member Solomon noted that the Town Council needs to separate projects as to whether they are essential, “a must or need”, or something it would be nice to have, “A want”. Then, the Council should agree upon and then apply a "screen" for prioritizing projects within those categories.

Our conclusion

Staff had been requested by Council to hold this session. They conducted the session as if they had been requested to do something that they did not want to do. They were "going through the motion."

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Jones-Ivey Asks Council to Reconsider Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment... After Rejecting It

Jones-Ivey asks town to reconsider   

Council Members Joyce Jones-Ivey and Mo Greene have asked the town council to reconsider its rejection of the Kai-Capri amendment. The reconsideration will be discussed tonight.

Sponsoring reconsideration does not mean that Jones-Ivey supports that this general plan amendment.  Rather, it may mean that she is offering support to a fellow council member who wants the motioned reheard.  A reconsideration requires one council member who voted against the plan to sponsor reconsideration.

The following are the two reasons Jones-Ivey voted against the amendment at the January 6 meeting.

Voted "No"for two reasons

Council Member Joyce Jones-Ivey voted “no” on the Kai-Capri general plan amendment at the January 6 council meeting. She joined Council Members Barrett, Bohan, and Nicolson in rejecting the amendment. You can read their remarks here. Jones-Ivey did not say why she voted "no" at that time. So we asked her. There were two reasons.

First, the existing land use provides a key alternative commercial site and should remain such

Jones-Ivey has been looking at the property for a long time. She considered its present land use when the council made changes to encourage economic development.  “I was looking a commercial properties and cataloguing in my mind what could be possible.” The Kai-Capri property “...was right on the top of my brain, mainly because of where it was located.” She concluded that is was properly zoned for neighborhood commercial given its easy access to Oracle, via First Avenue; and access on the newly widened Tangerine Road.

“If we are going to attract employers we are going to need some different locations for them to be able to look at.” In addition, Jones-Ivey noted, the property as zoned will be less disturbing to the habitat. “Leaving it as is just made sense.”

Second, the argument that the town needs more rooftops to support retail has not worked out over time

Jones-Ivey never thought that the amendment request, which changed over time, would come back to request housing on the property.

This presented a new challenge. 

“My other issue” became the high density of the land use.” The residential options the amendment sought ranged from single family housing to apartments. (Panel above). “That just seemed to be a repeat of the previous council’s position of ‘rooftops...rooftops...rooftops'. It just didn’t seem to address the issue of bringing in additional revenues.”

During her deliberations, Jones-Ivey spoke with Oro Valley Planning Director Bayer Vella. Vella emphasized that apartments bring in additional revenues. She wondered though: What kind? Reflecting on the result of the “rooftops strategy” she concluded that significant new primary employer jobs did not happen from more rooftops. Rather, Oro Valley got more eateries. “More eateries is nothing substantial in my mind. How many eateries can we have?"

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Incumbents being financed by wealthy special interests once again

Synopsis of Incumbents’ Campaign Finance Reports
Campaign Finance Reports through June 30th reveal that Mayor Hiremath and Councilmembers Hornat, Waters, and Snider have received a total of $61,580 in campaign contributions with $50,000 coming from developers, builders, land speculators, and others in the real estate industry.

Mayor Hiremath raised $21,430 in donations.

It’s worth noting that the incumbents have continued to solicit donations from developers and special interests despite knowing that over-development and special interest influence are the major issues that are angering Oro Valley residents.

LOVE readers will be familiar with “the usual suspects” who are once again the top contributors. These include Humberto Lopez/HSL Properties ($14,000), the Kai family ($20,000), and Jeff Grobstein, President of Meritage Homes ($4000).

As you will see in the charts at the end of this article, the top five donors contributed $46,500 accounting for a whopping 76% of the total contributions.

Mayoral challenger, Joe Winfield stated in a press release, “Special Interest influence on Oro Valley land use decisions is the major complaint I hear from voters. I thought the incumbents would reconsider relying on Special Interest money in this election in light of allegations of ‘Pay to Play’ by residents of the town.” Winfield further stated that the challengers promise to neither “seek nor accept contributions from special interests but will represent Oro Valley residents in our council decisions.”

Synopsis of Challengers’ Campaign Finance Reports
Joe Winfield, Melanie Barrett, Josh Nicolson, and Joyce Jones-Ivey raised a combined total of $28,397 and have done so without any special interest donations.

If elected, this ensures that all their decisions will be citizen-based and not influenced by wealthy benefactors. This will result in future developments adhering to the standards in the voter-approved General Plan and Town zoning codes rather than catering to the whims of developers.

Joe Winfield raised $13,687
     (plus an additional $5000 that Winfield donated to his own campaign for a total of $18,687).

A Comparison Study
56 Oro Valley residents contributed a total of $13,687 to Joe Winfield’s campaign.

Only 6 Oro Valley residents contributed a total of $475.00 to Mayor Hiremath’s campaign.
     (7 residents and $575.00 total if you count the $100 donation from Councilmember Rodman)

Here’s why the incumbents rely on special interest donations:
Only 6 Oro Valley residents contributed to Mayor Hiremath’s campaign.
Only 2 Oro Valley residents contributed to Lou Waters’ campaign.
Only 2 Oro Valley residents contributed to Joe Hornat’s campaign.
Only 4 Oro Valley residents contributed to Mary Snider’s campaign.

Meanwhile…
56 Oro Valley residents contributed to Joe Winfield’s campaign.
27 Oro Valley residents contributed to Melanie Barrett’s campaign.
17 Oro Valley residents contributed to Josh Nicholson’s campaign.
9 Oro Valley residents contributed to Joyce Jones-Ivey’s campaign.

[Click on the charts to enlarge]

Council Member Jones-Ivey Focusses on Recreation For All

Leading the way in supporting youth activities
In January, council member Joyce Jones-Ivey will be the council liaison to the town’s Parks and Recreation Commission. Jones-Ivey is recovering from knee surgery. As usual, however, we found her in her office in town hall, busy doing the work of the people. 

As liaison to this commission, Jones-Ivey will have the opportunity to view the creation of a master Parks and Recreation Plan, a plan that town council has directed be prepared. She is ideally suited for the job.

Passion to get recreational facilities for all
Jones-Ivey is passionate about providing the right recreational facilities for all Oro Valley residents. “Part of my fiscal responsibility is to make sure that we have funds going to recreational activities that more of our citizens use. I don’t want the people who live around the golf course to be hurt but we also have to look at the rest of our citizens to provide for their needs.”

Jones-Ivey has a feel for what the parents want... reaches out to learn more
Regarding the youth needs for example: “Those voices are still out there. I see a lot of those parents. I go

to activities where they are at. If it’s going to be activities at Kreigh Park, ‘I’m there’. ... I’m there because I want to hear from them. I want to know what they want.”

Jones-Ivey understands why most of the community is silent regarding their needs. “They are not the ones who are in the council meetings. Not the ones I’m getting emails from. I’ve asked them, several times, reach out to me. But they don’t. I can empathize with them.”

Jones-Ivey pointed out that it wasn’t that long ago when she was in their shoes.

 “They’re busy. They have families. They’re working jobs. By the time you’ve gone through that day... activities... kids with homework, you never feel you can do a ‘flashvote‘ [the town’s information online polling tool]. I can remember those days in my life. You don’t have the time.. So, I’ll just keep reaching out to them and getting them to reach out to me. Simple email will do!”

Working to get town use of Amphi School District recreational facilities
Before taking on her new assignment, Jones-Ivey continues her role as liaison to the Amphi School Disctrict. Her primary goal is on getting town access for use of Amphi school fields.

“I would like to get an intergovernmental agreement for youth sports activities. I want our youth sports activities to be able to use their fields. That’s one of my biggest goals. To date, I know that we have girls gym class going right now.”

Your help is needed
One challenge in moving this forward is getting superintendent Todd Yaegar’s attention.

 “We spoke to him about IGA’s (Intergovernmental Agreement) and he brushed it off.” She would like our help. She asks that we all turn up the heat on that. Email the Amphi Superintendant (tjaeger@amphi.com)TODD Jaeger. Tell him: We want our youth activities to use your fields after hours. A groundswell of support will most certainly help in Joyce Jones-Ivey’s quest.
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Another Opportunity to Meet the Town Council Challengers

Candidates Host Voter Registration Drives at Oro Valley Parks on July 4th

PRESS RELEASE:  In celebration of our country’s independence and right to elect a representative government, the candidates for Oro Valley Mayor and Town Council will be hosting voter registration drives at parks around Oro Valley.

Candidate Joe Winfield explained their reasons for doing this, stating that “Registering to vote, being informed about community issues, and voting for the best qualified candidates are the responsibility of good citizenship.” Joyce Jones-Ivey elaborated further: “We want to listen to and respond to the citizens of Oro Valley, not special interests. We want to represent the people, including new residents that have not yet registered to vote.”

Winfield and Town Council candidates Melanie Barrett, Josh Nicolson, and Joyce Jones-Ivey will spend the morning of the 4th of July at Riverfront park talking to community members and encouraging voter registration. Later in the evening, they will host a booth with registration materials during the 4th of July event at Naranja Park.

The slate of candidates will also hold an informational meeting on July 9th at 6:30 pm at the Community Center.

More information can be found at JoeWinfieldmayor.com; MelanieBarrett.org; JJonesIvey4OV.org, JoshforOroValley.com

LOVE is on vacation for the remainder of the week.

Bits and Pieces

Don't Run The Red
A 2019 AAA Foundation Survey found that more people are being killed by red light runners than ever before. "More than two people are killed every day on U.S. roads by impatient and reckless drivers blowing through red lights."

That fact has been noted by Oro Valley Public Works Director and Engineer Paul Keesler. Speaking on Jim Horn's Oro Valley Podcast last week, Keesler said that intersection safety will be a key focus area in 2020.

"We have to get people to obey the traffic control because the T-Bone accident is one of the most dangerous." Keesler is going to study the most dangerous Oro Valley intersections to try to determine what is causing the accidents.  There was one of these last Friday at Oro Valley's most dangerous intersection: Magee and Oracle.

Residents note property tax increase
Oro Valley residents are becoming aware that there are consequences for voter approval of the Golder Ranch Bond. Posting on NextDoor, a resident seemed astounded to learn that taxes are going up. The resident learned this when they were notified of the need for increased property tax escrow by their bank. Send thank notes to the Golder Ranch Fire District.

Ironwood Ridge Lights On... Nobody There

Ironwood Ridge HS...
Lights burn bright at night
The lights are on in the ball fields at Ironwood Ridge well into the evening. It's a time when the fields are not being used. The neighbors are annoyed.

According to one: "Nobody is in sight anywhere on campus and the parking lot is empty. Why [is Amphi School District] allowing taxpayer money to be wasted while ruining our night skies in Oro Valley by leaving these lights on until 9:00 PM, M-F, regardless of actual use?" We referred the writer to Council Member Joyce-Ivey. She is the council liaison to the Amphi School District. Joyce plans to look in to it.

Traffic proceeds nicely at Moore and LaCanada

Roundabout works well
The roundabout at Moore Road and La Canada seems to work quite well. This a according to Paul Keesler during an interview last week on Jim Horn's Oro Valley Podcast.

Keesler invested considerable time determining ways to make sure that drivers approach the intersection cautiously and at low speed.

Horn noted that the roundabout works well for bicyclists. We took a look at it Wednesday. Indeed, it does work well.

Light installation at Naranja and La Canada

Town installs turn lights at Naranja and La Canada
This week, the town added a protected left turn arrow at the intersection of Naranja and La Canada. The line of traffic traveling northbound was back to the Frys Shopping Center.

Here's a look at the work.

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Have something interesting for us to know? Just get in touch and we'll highlight it for you in LOVE.

Tucson Association of Realtors spreading Town Council election falsehoods

A LOVE reader sent us this screenshot of an email that is being distributed by The Tucson Association of Realtors (TAR) and the Realtor Political Action Committee (RPAC).

The contents of this email are a blatant lie and there are only two possible explanations for this:

• They received inaccurate information and didn’t bother to verify its authenticity before spreading this false information

• Or they are deliberately putting their own spin on the story in order to instill FEAR in their members in an attempt to drum up donations and votes for Hiremath-Hornat-Snider-Waters

Did TAR interview the challengers? No! So how do they know the challengers stances on this issue? On what basis did they draw the conclusion that the challengers “have promised to impose a building moritorium [sic] in Oro Valley if elected?” Did a mole attend one of the challengers Meet and Greets and then inaccurately report back what transpired at that meeting?

Fortunately, we have an accurate report of the challengers’ positions on development. Below are direct quotes from the 3-part article, “LOVE interviews mayoral candidate, Joe Winfield” published on June 5-6-7.

In Part 1 of the interview, Winfield stated:

“In addition, I want to moderate growth. I would approach that by simply putting a moratorium on any amendments or rezonings and letting our community take a breath on the amount of development that has been occurring. I’m not suggesting that we don’t need development or that development would need to stop, but that we would comply and follow the current land use and zoning.”

Winfield suggested only a moratorium on General Plan amendments and rezonings. He never promised a complete moratorium on all building. He said “moderate…take a breath…follow the current land use and zoning.”

First of all, a moratorium is just a temporary halting of an activity, in this case, a temporary halting of General Plan amendments and rezonings. That is a far cry from imposing a complete moratorium on all building.

Does Winfield’s measured approach sound like something that would “have a dramatic impact” on the entire community?

In Part 2 of the interview, Winfield stated:

“I would hope to have made a difference in terms of the development of our community. Admittedly, much of the community is already developed so I don’t know that you’ll see a significant difference but I would hope that there would have been some moderation in development and the type of development.”

Does that sound like a complete building moratorium to you? Does that sound like it would lead to a dramatic impact?

Melanie Barrett’s thoughts on development

“Seek development that is responsive to residents wishes and responsible in design…[slowing] the current pace of developments.” [Introducing Melanie Barrett, LOVE, May 22nd]

Joyce Jones-Ivey’s thoughts development

“Responsible growth that preserves our town’s scenic beauty…Adhere to the guiding principles of the General Plan.” [Introducing Joyce Jones-Ivey, LOVE, May 24th]

Josh Nicolson’s thoughts on development

“Frequent General Plan amendments and rezonings…Right now it seems like developers are getting their way and there’s a group of citizens who aren’t being listened to at all. I believe elected officials have a moral obligation to do what’s best for the community as a whole and for the long-term prosperity of Oro Valley.” [Introducing Josh Nicolson, LOVE, June 11th]

As you can see, TAR and RAPAC are using fear tactics and spin to drum up support for their cause. No one should take them seriously. After all, they can’t even spell moratorium, the very subject of their email! They misspelled it four times!

TAR and RAPAC have a right to support the incumbents but they need to cease and desist with their lies and fear-mongering.

Four More Years? Yes or No? It’s Up To You

Oro Valley votes for mayor and council tomorrow  
Tomorrow, Oro Valley votes on who will be their Mayor and town council. 

It is a “winner take all scenario for Mayor

The mayor will either be former Police Chief Danny Sharp or Current Mayor Joe Winfield. Four years ago, Winfield won a landslide victory over then Mayor Satish Hiremath. Winfield received more than 58% of the 15,817 votes cast. Four years earlier, Hiremath won a landslide victory over his opponent, receiving more than 62% of the 11,027 votes cast. This earned him a second term as Mayor. 

We’ve covered the mayoral candidates and their views during the past four weeks. Still, we think it important to hear a bit from their supporters on why they support their candidate.

Sharp supporters say Danny is the best candidate

Mary Murphy is a six year resident of Oro Valley. She is also a member or the town’s Board of Adjustment. One of the reasons she chose to live in Oro Valley was the town’s outstanding public safety record. Here’s why Mary believes that Danny Sharp would be an excellent Mayor:

• With a forty-year career in law enforcement, he has a documented record of community and service orientation, and as the spouse of a retired first responder, I fully understand the commitments they make on a daily basis.
• While serving as police chief, he was asked to step in as Acting Town Manager for over a year. He took on this additional challenge without hesitation. That the Town looked for him to take on this task, and his willingness to do it indicate both a high level of competence and a commitment to our community. While filling this role, Danny gained valuable knowledge and insight into all aspects of town operations and funding. This experience is something few mayors have and is critically important here in Oro Valley, considering the current financial climate both locally and nationally.
• Danny was one of the founders of Project Graduation in Oro Valley, a program designed to keep our young people safe on graduation night, and he continues to volunteer his time to this important program. As a mom, this commitment really resonates with me. 
• Danny and his family demonstrate their love of Oro Valley by participating in the “Adopt a Road” program. For years the Sharp family has been clearing trash and debris from a large section of Naranja Drive, helping to keep Oro Valley beautiful. 
• Additionally, Danny is also a member of the Oro Valley Hospital Board, and as someone with a background in the medical field, I find this to be quite admirable. Viewed with his other activities, this shows Danny’s commitment to the town as a whole, one that serves all its residents.

Winfield supporters say that Joe is the best candidate

Jack Stinnett is a long-time resident and former Chairman of the town’s Parks and Recreation Commission. He is passionate about our community and passionate in his support of Joe Winfield. Here are his thoughts:

• The Winfield council has moved Oro Valley forward in every area, and Oro Valley today is the best place to live in Arizona. 
• They have invested in our police officer’s pay and pensions to retain the men and women who keep Oro Valley the safest town in the state. 
• They have improved the town’s financial rating to AA+, and paid off police pension debt that will avoid millions in future pension liabilities. They have used golf savings to improve and expand recreation amenities without any new taxes. Topping it off is our new 202 acre Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve that Joe refused to rezone for high density development. 
• Mayor Winfield’s vision is to grow Oro Valley responsibly. He has self funded his campaign and will decide what is best for residents, NOT Tucson apartment developers, and real estate PACs who have funded his challenger. 
• Finally, Mayor Winfield is the most honest man I know, and we need leaders who tell us the truth even when it is not what we want to hear.

Don’t forget to vote for three open council seats

The Mayor does not make decisions alone. It is the town council of which he is a member, that has the final say. There are six candidates vying for the three open council seats. Here’s who they are:

• Melanie Barrett is the town’s Vice Mayor. One of her focus areas is representing the needs of families with school age children
• Joe Erceg is a business development candidate. Joe wants to bring more sports activities into the community 
• Charlie Hurt has lived in Oro Valley for 16 years. He is a former member and chair of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission and a former member and chair of the town’s Water Utility Commission 
• Joyce Jones-Ivey is a current council member. She takes pride in being an independent thinker. Joyce does not “go along to just get along.” 
• Josh Nicolson brings a financial perspective to the council. His insight into finance was one of the driving forces in the town fully funding the public safety pension plan 
• Bill Rodman served as council member from 2016 to 2020. Rodman is a proponent of growing the town to support business and to support the town’s finances. He voted for all approved general plan and zoning amendments during his prior tour on council. 

These six have affiliated themselves with one of the two mayoral candidates. But you don’t have to vote for one or all of them simply because they have done that. You can “mix and match.” 

We will be back Wednesday to report preliminary results

These results will likely include about 98% of the total votes cast. However, there will still be “provisional” and possibly late mail in ballots not yet counted. It could take a few more days for those.

So, Oro Valley, it’s election time.

Do your job!

Solomon Attacks "Big Community Survey"... Greene Agrees

Last week, we highlighted in the “Big Community Survey”. The survey results will be used by working groups as they craft the 2026 General Plan. We hope you found our three articles useful in understanding what was in the survey. Today,  we focus on the council's reaction to the survey results.
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Councilmember Solomon scotches survey results 
Last month, Town Planner Milini Simms and the town's external consultant presenting the survey results to the town council. Council member Steve Solomon criticized the conclusions, stating they are internally inconsistent. According to Solomon, the results "... contradict each other and are mutually exclusive." Solomon voiced his opinion that more rooftops would be needed to attract additional businesses like restaurants, which some survey respondents desire. This, according to Solomon, would also increase traffic. That is contrary to residents' preferences. Regarding the drinking water supply, Solomon argued it is not a pressing issue, despite residents' concerns about the long term water supply. He maintained that Oro Valley has an ample water supply, reassuring residents there is no need for worry. 

Greene Agrees… and so does Jones-Ivey


Council member Mo Greene, as usual, echoed Solomon's sentiments: '"I want to thank Councilmember Solomon for raising these issues." Joining them is Councilmember Jones-Ivey, who appears to have only skimmed the survey slides. "My Concern was pretty much ... stated by Councilmember Solomon. As I look at this I'm seeing that [residents want] no more growth, but [they] want more restaurants [and] more services .But [they] don't want any more traffic." Neither Greene nor Joyce-Ivey seemed to have fully reviewed the materials because that's not what they want.

Barrett goes to the facts to prove Solomon “wrong”


Fortunately, here's the good news: Both Vice Mayor Barrett and Councilmember Bohen thoroughly examined the materials. Using survey statistics, Barrett quickly pointed out that only a small percentage of respondents expressed a desire for more restaurants and businesses in town. In contrast, over half of the respondents prioritize environmental concerns such as preserving views. Managing town growth while ensuring water availability and environmental protection are top priorities for residents. Barrett emphasized that there are no inconsistencies in these findings.

Bohen concludes that the survey does show what the community wants

Council Member Bohen noted that the survey results are "good news." He emphasized that respondents are clearly telling the council not to dismiss survey responses. Bohen stated, "What the community wants isn't complicated. I think the message from the residents to us and also to the staff is to begin managing the town in accordance with our current reality, not where we wish to be

Still time for residents to participate
The survey process isn’t over. According to Planner Simms: “Come August and September, we're going to be asking residents to go to the website and make sure that the vision reflects what they said,”. You will be able to access those questions here.

Will Council Swallow Hiremath Poison Pill Tonight?

UPDATE: Project rejected
After lengthy discussion, the town council rejected the application by a 6-1 vote, with Council Member Solomon the sole vote in favor. Reasons for rejection include:

• The proposed development was of density greater than the abutting residential development;
• The town should preserve the scarce land that it has for commercial office park; and
• There is seven years of residential development in line at present. Thus, this additional residential development is not needed.

Of concern to all was the interest of the abutting residents on the impact of the height of any commercial property that could be built. There is a concern because the prior council designated this property for "fast track" ("EEZ") approval. Under "EEZ", public input is not required as part of the project approval process.

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The "Poison Pill"
On his way out the door, Oro Valley Mayor Hiremath left a poison pill for incoming Mayor Joe Winfield and new council members Barrett, Joyce-Ivey, and Nicolson. The pill is in the form of a follow up to a general plan amendment.

The amendment was passed by a 5-2 vote at the September 19 council meeting. The amendment changed the land designation of what we refer to as the "Ford Property" from "commercial/office park" (COP) to medium density residential (MDR). The property is located on the northwest corner of Rancho Vistoso Blvd and Vistoso Commerce Loop.

Here's the poison: The property is zoned as COP. Thus, it must be rezoned to MDR in order for it to be in conformance with the amended general plan.

Ford Property

72 home potential
The proposal is to rezone the property to medium density residential. The applicant is WLB Group.

WLB wants 72 detached homes built on the property. WLB has proposed and received approval for previous zoning change requests in Oro Valley.  Paul Oland, their senior project manager, has been their representative on this and many of the other requests. He seems to be a WLB "rainmaker" when it comes to getting things changed in Oro Valley.

Planning and Zoning Commission said yes to rezoning... staff said no
"This rezoning request was considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission at a special session on November 8, 2018. At this public hearing, the Commission voted 4-3 to recommend approval of this application, while staff recommended denial." (source)

According to staff, when compared to other communities, Oro Valley is already on the "low end" of available commercial land (Vella, 9-19-18 council meeting, 22:09 meeting video). For example, Oro Valley's 400 available acres are less than 4% of neighboring Marana. According to JJ Johnston, Oro Valley Director of Development, the town actually has only 200 acres of buildable land.(Source)

"The proposal would significantly reduce an already limited supply of Commerce / Office Park land in Oro Valley. This type of land is needed to attract employers, businesses, and residents to Oro Valley and help maintain the community's long-term economic viability...On balance, it is staff's professional opinion that this proposal is not in conformance with the policies of the Your Voice, Our Future General Plan." (source)

Under the prior council, a rezoning request of this nature was a "slam dunk." It would have been approved by a 7-0 vote.

Tonight, our new Oro Valley Town Council will decide if it wants to do this or if it wants to take a different tack. We wonder: Can it take a different tack or will it have to "swallow the poison?"
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Oro Valley Council Continues Discussion On Adding Three New Taxes

Three new taxes continue to be under consideration
The Oro Valley Town Council met October 15 to continue its study session on three proposed taxes — a use tax, a telecommunications tax, and a commercial rental tax. These taxes are already collected by Tucson, Marana, and Sahuarita. Town staff said they would help maintain services as costs rise and state-shared revenues flatten. We have reported on the council's four previous discussions of this item.

Estimated annual revenue impact of up to $2 million
Finance Director David Gephart said the three taxes could generate between $930,000 and $1.9 million annually:

• Use tax: $375,000 to $600,000
• Telecommunications tax: $130,000 to $280,000
• Commercial rental tax: $425,000 to $1,000,000

He said the goal is to diversify the Town’s revenues, reduce dependence on sales tax, and avoid introducing a property tax.

Staff would like to see funds dedicated for capital spending

If adopted, staff recommends that revenue from the new taxes be earmarked by Council for capital projects such as the newly acquired Police Department building, which currently lack a dedicated funding source. Final money dedication would require Council action (ordinance, fund setup, or budget transfer). Otherwise the funds can be used for any town operating or capital need. Council has not taken a position on this.

Businesses say new taxes would hurt competitiveness
Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce President Kristen Sharp told the Council that the commercial rental tax would make it harder for local businesses to remain competitive when operating costs in Oro Valley are already higher than in surrounding areas. She said businesses are “operating on tight margins” and warned that higher costs could discourage new tenants or drive existing ones away.

Commercial real estate broker Robert Tomlinson presented data showing Oro Valley’s retail vacancy rate at 12.8%, more than double the Tucson-area average of 5.9%. He said the new tax could further weaken the retail sector and increase vacant space.

Move would diversify Oro Valley's revenue stream
Joyce Garland, a 25-year Oro Valley resident and former Chief Financial Officer for Tucson, supported adopting all three taxes. She said state-shared revenues are declining because Oro Valley’s population is growing by less than one percent a year while new cities, such as San Tan Valley, are being incorporated. That means Oro Valley’s share of the statewide revenue “pie” continues to shrink. Garland said a broader mix of local revenues would give the Town flexibility and protect services from future shortfalls. The Budget and Finance Commission, which she chairs, voted September 16 to recommend approval of the proposals.

Implementation of taxes would not happen until July of 2026 if they are approved by council
Gephart plans to bring implementation proposals back for another study session before any vote. He explained that the Arizona Department of Revenue recently changed its reporting process for municipal tax code updates, and Oro Valley is the first community to use it. Because of that, there are questions about timing and notification requirements that must be resolved before moving forward. He said staff may recommend a phased implementation beginning in July 2026. 

Council weighs fairness and economic impacts
Councilmember Robb said she supports the use tax because it applies broadly and fairly but remains undecided about the other two. Vice Mayor Barrett questioned whether the rental tax would truly harm competitiveness, noting that neighboring towns already have similar taxes. Councilmember Nicolson said that because most Oro Valley commercial centers are owned by large, out-of-state corporations. These are landlords who are unlikely to pass the added cost on to their tenants — many of whom are small, locally owned businesses. He explained that these are landlords operate under corporate financial models that prioritize maintaining profit margins, leaving little flexibility to adjust lease terms or absorb new costs locally.

Next step: Up for public hearing with council vote on November 5
No formal action was taken at this session. At the beginning of the meeting, Finance Director David Gephart said staff intends to bring the three proposed taxes back to the Council for possible action at its next regular meeting on November 5.

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