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Budget Engagement Survey for Fiscal Year 2026

How you would prioritize City needs and services? Would you like to comment on City budget priorities?

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2028 registered responses


Using the detailed responses given above, which services do you consider important for the City to work into future budgets? Please select up to eight (8) service areas that you consider important to fund. *If using a desktop, hold down ctrl while making multiple selections.

Response Percent Response Count
Hire more officers 40.2% 816
Affordable housing 59.7% 1,211
Violence prevention 29.6% 600
More CSOs 21.6% 438
More firefighters 43.7% 887
Fund early education 51.9% 1,052
More 911 call-takers 30.5% 619
Update safety sites 12.0% 243
Substance use help 51.4% 1,042
Upgrade safety gear 21.7% 440
Homelessness support 57.5% 1,167
Police air support 21.7% 441
More shade & trees 54.0% 1,096
Safety tech upgrades 13.0% 263
Job skills training 39.7% 806
Help local business 30.8% 624
More arts & culture 36.7% 745
City property care 23.5% 477
Neighborhood cleanup 32.5% 659
No funding needed 0.7% 15

Are there expenses in the City’s General Fund that you consider to be wasteful/unnecessary that the Mayor & Council should examine cutting?

Answered
2,028
Skipped
0

Are there City service changes you think would save money and or/improve impacts for the community and visitors that the Mayor & Council should consider adjusting?

Answered
2,028
Skipped
0

What options should the City explore for new or increased dollars to help solve its projected budget deficit?

Average priorities over 2028 responses

  1. Council authority. Estimated to generate $1-$1.5 million per year, paid by businesses doing local advertising on billboards, direct mail, radio and television, etc. All larger cities in Arizona tax advertising, except Tucson. Rates range from 0.5% - 2.9% - Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale

    Creating an Advertising Transaction Privilege Tax

  2. Council authority. Estimated to generate $10-$12 million per year. Paid by transit system users. In Tucson, public transit is currently free. For comparison, Valley Metro (Phoenix area) charges a one-way fare on local bus and light rail of $2, with an all-day pass costing $4

    Re-implement transit fares

  3. Council Authority. Estimated to generate $2 million per fiscal year for each $1 increase – must be used for tourism-related costs. Most other Arizona cities, counties, and states impose a bed tax. Tucson is unique in that it charges its hotel surtax on a per-room-night basis. Currently, there is a $4/room night surcharge. Tucson’s combined city, county, state tax, and surtax on hotel nights is currently higher than the statewide average.

    Increasing the local per-night-stay bed surtax

  4. Requires voter approval. Estimated to generate a total of $150 million via GO Bonds, over 20 years, paid by all property owners in the City. Secondary property taxes currently pay for debt issued to fund Prop 407: Parks & Connections, prior street improvements, and to refinance existing debt at better terms. If approved by voters, would add costs to future property tax levies but could keep combined tax rate (primary and secondary) below $1.25 per $100 of assessed valuation. Current combined property tax rate is $1.0345 per $100 of assessed valuation. City Charter caps the combined property tax rate, and it is $1.75 per $100 of assessed valuation.

    Secondary Property Tax increase for capital equipment and projects

  5. Requires voter approval. Estimated to generate $40 million per year, paid on retail purchases excluding food for home consumption, rent, and medicine. Tucson voters rejected the recent proposal for a half-cent sales tax increase. Is there support for a smaller increase to the local sales tax? A one quarter cent increase would raise sales taxes by twenty-five cents (25¢) for every $100 spent

    Adding sales tax of one quarter-cent

  6. None of the options listed should be used. City should cut existing services to pay for any new needs.

    None of the options listed should be used. City should cut existing services to pay for any new needs.

What additional thoughts or comments do you have regarding the City’s FY26 Budget development?

Answered
1,340
Skipped
688

Race & Ethnicity - Which of the following describes your racial or ethnic identity? Please select all that apply.

Response Percent Response Count
American Indian or Alaska Native 3.0% 59
Asian 3.1% 61
Black or African American 2.7% 54
Latinx or Hispanic 18.3% 364
Middle Eastern/North African 0.8% 15
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 0.4% 7
White 60.7% 1,209
Prefer not to say 21.4% 426

Gender - What is your current gender? Select all that apply.

Response Percent Response Count
Male 35.5% 706
Female 42.0% 835
Transgender 2.6% 52
Nonbinary 5.4% 108
Prefer not to say 16.4% 327
I use a different term 1.5% 29

Age - What is your age?

Response Percent Response Count
15 - 19 0.8% 17
20 - 24 6.1% 122
25 - 34 27.6% 553
35 - 44 22.9% 458
45 - 54 11.8% 236
55 - 59 5.0% 101
60 - 64 4.0% 81
65 - 74 8.3% 167
75 - 84 2.8% 56
85 and older 0.1% 3
Prefer not to say 10.3% 207

Tribal Affiliation - Are you an enrolled member and/or a descendant of a Federal or State recognized American Indian Tribe? If so, which one(s)? Please select all that apply.

Response Percent Response Count
Pascua Yaqui Tribe 0.8% 14
Tohono O’odham Nation 0.1% 1
Not listed 5.3% 99
Not a member or descendent 77.0% 1,427
Prefer not to say 17.4% 322

Disability - Do you have difficulties with any of the following? Please select all that apply.

Response Percent Response Count
Hearing (Deaf or serious difficulty hearing) 2.5% 48
Vision (Blind or serious difficulty seeing even while wearing glasses) 0.9% 18
Cognitive (Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition) 5.7% 109
Ambulatory (Difficulty walking or climbing stairs) 3.9% 74
Self-care (Difficulty dressing or bathing) 0.8% 15
Independent living (difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting doctor's office or shopping because of physical, mental, or emotional condition) 1.5% 29
I do not identify with having a disability 65.6% 1,244
Prefer not to say 23.6% 447

Income - What is your total household income?

Response Percent Response Count
Less than $10,000 2.3% 45
$10,000 - $24,999 5.8% 115
$25,000 - $39,999 10.1% 200
$40,000 - $54,999 10.6% 211
$55,000 - $69,999 9.9% 196
$70,000 - $84,999 8.6% 171
$85,000 - $99,999 5.9% 117
$100,000 - $114,999 8.6% 170
$115,000 - $129,999 3.8% 76
$130,000 - $144,999 2.6% 52
$145,000 - $159,999 2.6% 51
$160,000 - $174,999 2.1% 42
$175,000 or more 6.4% 128
Prefer not to say 20.8% 414

Language - How well do you speak English?

Response Percent Response Count
Very well 86.6% 1,726
Well 4.2% 84
Not well 0.1% 1
Prefer not to say 9.1% 182
Name not shown inside Ward 6
April 11, 2025, 11:58 PM
  • Using the detailed responses given above, which services do you consider important for the City to work into future budgets? Please select up to eight (8) service areas that you consider important to fund. *If using a desktop, hold down ctrl while making multiple selections.
    • Affordable housing
    • Fund early education
    • Update safety sites
    • Substance use help
    • Homelessness support
    • More shade & trees
    • More arts & culture
  • Are there expenses in the City’s General Fund that you consider to be wasteful/unnecessary that the Mayor & Council should examine cutting?

    Police services

  • Are there City service changes you think would save money and or/improve impacts for the community and visitors that the Mayor & Council should consider adjusting?

    No more police funding. Fund our public services, support our unhoused and help people survive. Do not prosecute people for living and existing in our town. Keep public transportation FREE.

  • What options should the City explore for new or increased dollars to help solve its projected budget deficit?

    1. Council authority. Estimated to generate $1-$1.5 million per year, paid by businesses doing local advertising on billboards, direct mail, radio and television, etc. All larger cities in Arizona tax advertising, except Tucson. Rates range from 0.5% - 2.9% - Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale

      Creating an Advertising Transaction Privilege Tax

    2. Requires voter approval. Estimated to generate $40 million per year, paid on retail purchases excluding food for home consumption, rent, and medicine. Tucson voters rejected the recent proposal for a half-cent sales tax increase. Is there support for a smaller increase to the local sales tax? A one quarter cent increase would raise sales taxes by twenty-five cents (25¢) for every $100 spent

      Adding sales tax of one quarter-cent

    3. Requires voter approval. Estimated to generate a total of $150 million via GO Bonds, over 20 years, paid by all property owners in the City. Secondary property taxes currently pay for debt issued to fund Prop 407: Parks & Connections, prior street improvements, and to refinance existing debt at better terms. If approved by voters, would add costs to future property tax levies but could keep combined tax rate (primary and secondary) below $1.25 per $100 of assessed valuation. Current combined property tax rate is $1.0345 per $100 of assessed valuation. City Charter caps the combined property tax rate, and it is $1.75 per $100 of assessed valuation.

      Secondary Property Tax increase for capital equipment and projects
  • What additional thoughts or comments do you have regarding the City’s FY26 Budget development?

    No more police funding! Our city deserves better!

  • Race & Ethnicity - Which of the following describes your racial or ethnic identity? Please select all that apply.
    • White
  • Gender - What is your current gender? Select all that apply.
    • Male
  • Age - What is your age?
    • 25 - 34
  • Tribal Affiliation - Are you an enrolled member and/or a descendant of a Federal or State recognized American Indian Tribe? If so, which one(s)? Please select all that apply.
    • Not a member or descendent
  • Disability - Do you have difficulties with any of the following? Please select all that apply.
    No response.
  • Income - What is your total household income?
    • $25,000 - $39,999
  • Language - How well do you speak English?
    • Very well
Open Town Hall is not a certified voting system or ballot box. As with any public comment process, participation in Open Town Hall is voluntary. The responses in this record are not necessarily representative of the whole population, nor do they reflect the opinions of any government agency or elected officials.

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Question 1 (Innovative Priorities – Top 8)

Background: The City works to find innovative ways to address our community needs. Recently, in response to local needs, we proposed increasing public safety and community resilience funding through our police, fire, 911, housing, violence prevention, and assistance for unsheltered homelessness programs.

Q1: Which services do you consider important for the City to work into future budgets? Please select up to eight service areas that you consider important to fund.

1. Hiring additional police officers to provide better response to 911 calls

2. Increasing Affordable Housing initiatives to advance the goals of our Housing Affordability Strategy for Tucson (HAST)

3. Increasing community-based violence prevention and intervention to create safer neighborhoods

4. Hiring additional community service officers to provide better response to non-emergency calls

5. Hiring additional firefighter staff for medical emergencies

6. Increasing funding for early childhood education programs

7. Hiring additional 911 call-takers to better staff the Public Safety Communications call center

8. Updating, expanding, and/or replacing facilities for police, fire, and public safety communications services (911/311)

9. Increasing and improving support and services for people with substance misuse disorders, including assistance with navigating the justice system and incarceration

10. Updating and replacing vehicles and equipment for police, fire, and public safety communications (911/311)

11. Increased shelter and services for people experiencing homelessness.

12. Police Air Support Unit - replacement of an existing helicopter, obtaining helicopter parts for repair/restoration of helicopter units, and adding a fixed-wing aircraft to provide continued and improved community safety and response to violent crime

13. Continue tree planting, increase shade at bus stops, and help the city address extreme heat

14. Improving public safety technology, including better body-worn cameras, data management, and a state-of-the-art response center

15. Support for adult and youth workforce development

16. Support for businesses in areas struggling with increased crime and economic neglect

17. More arts, culture, and heritage programs and assets

18. City median / City property cleanup and maintenance

19. Community/neighborhood cleanups

20. None of these services are important to fund

Choose between 1 and 8 options
* required

Question 2 & Question 3 (Comments on Balancing, Waste, or Needed Changes )

Background: The City’s General Fund multi-year budget plan shows that we face a deficit of approximately $50-$75 million. This is partly because the State legislature passed a flat income-tax that has reduced our revenues by approximately $40 million each year. The City also needs to continue to pay for ongoing services, equipment, and employees. We can't approve a budget that spends more money than we have so we need to understand which service areas our community believes should be reduced.

Deciding how to spend this money is a critical and challenging part of the work done by the City government. We have many community needs and good programs but only a limited amount of money to spend on city services. The General Fund supports the operations of the programs listed below and includes costs for employee wages and benefits, equipment purchases, contracted service payments, as well as a small number of capital projects:

  • Police services - law enforcement
  • Fire services - fire suppression and prevention
  • Emergency Medical services - emergency medical and ambulance transport
  • Parks services – maintenance and enhancements
  • Transit services - SunTran/SunVan/SunLink
  • Economic Development services – business attraction, annexations, small business support, international trade
  • Social services – services for the unsheltered, substance abuse, rental assistance vouchers, low-income housing, home-ownership programs
  • City Facilities services – maintenance of city-owned buildings and facilities
  • Recreation Program services – Kidco, pools, senior citizen activity programming, etc.
  • City Courts and Legal Assistance Services – courts and public defenders
  • Smart Cities services – programs that use innovative technology solutions to improve the efficiency of services and enhance the quality of life.
  • Climate resiliency – heat mitigation, water conservation, renewable energy
  • Court and legal services – city courts (including specialty courts) and public defenders
  • 911 and 311 response call centers
  • Tucson Convention Center (operating costs of the facility which drives economic activity in the community and downtown)
* required
* required

Question 4 (Revenue - Ranking)

Background: The State of Arizona constitution and laws put strict limits on how cities can raise money. This creates challenges such as: cities cannot ask voters to increase primary property taxes for general operations; cities cannot ask voters to create a local income tax. The Arizona Legislature continues adding new restrictions, taking funding options off the table that cities had been using in the past, leading to a smaller number of options to increase the money (revenues) coming into our General Fund. Options below include information on how they could be implemented either by “Council authority” (a vote by the Mayor and Council to implement) or “Requires voter approval” (an election would have to be held to implement).

Item Up Down Remove
Item Up Down Remove

Requires voter approval. Estimated to generate $40 million per year, paid on retail purchases excluding food for home consumption, rent, and medicine. Tucson voters rejected the recent proposal for a half-cent sales tax increase. Is there support for a smaller increase to the local sales tax? A one quarter cent increase would raise sales taxes by twenty-five cents (25¢) for every $100 spent

Council authority. Estimated to generate $10-$12 million per year. Paid by transit system users. In Tucson, public transit is currently free. For comparison, Valley Metro (Phoenix area) charges a one-way fare on local bus and light rail of $2, with an all-day pass costing $4

Council authority. Estimated to generate $1-$1.5 million per year, paid by businesses doing local advertising on billboards, direct mail, radio and television, etc. All larger cities in Arizona tax advertising, except Tucson. Rates range from 0.5% - 2.9% - Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale

None of the options listed should be used. City should cut existing services to pay for any new needs.

Requires voter approval. Estimated to generate a total of $150 million via GO Bonds, over 20 years, paid by all property owners in the City. Secondary property taxes currently pay for debt issued to fund Prop 407: Parks & Connections, prior street improvements, and to refinance existing debt at better terms. If approved by voters, would add costs to future property tax levies but could keep combined tax rate (primary and secondary) below $1.25 per $100 of assessed valuation. Current combined property tax rate is $1.0345 per $100 of assessed valuation. City Charter caps the combined property tax rate, and it is $1.75 per $100 of assessed valuation.

Council Authority. Estimated to generate $2 million per fiscal year for each $1 increase – must be used for tourism-related costs. Most other Arizona cities, counties, and states impose a bed tax. Tucson is unique in that it charges its hotel surtax on a per-room-night basis. Currently, there is a $4/room night surcharge. Tucson’s combined city, county, state tax, and surtax on hotel nights is currently higher than the statewide average.

* required

Question 5

Background: Additional thoughts and comments are always welcome. Residents can submit detailed written comments to the Mayor & Council via the City Clerk’s office at any time. If you want to share some quick thoughts on this survey, use the brief comment block below. There’s a character limit to help us quickly organize and summarize this survey’s feedback for the Mayor & Council.  

Choose at most 7 options
Check out our guidelines for civility

Fields marked with * are required

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