fiscal leadership
Fiscal Leadership
As your Vice Mayor for the past eight years, I have a sustained record of fiscal management working with multimillion-dollar budgets for the Town of Oro Valley. Proper fiscal management requires robust planning often in challenging economic situations. My record demonstrates a proven ability to analyze financial conditions and find win-win solutions, always ensuring the core values of our community are protected and funded.
AA+ Bond Rating
During my tenure with the Town Council, Standard and Poor, an outside financial analytics organization that rates the fiscal health of municipalities, raised our Town’s bond rating two levels, from AA- to AA+. This is the highest rating in the region, and it represents the sound fiscal decisions and discipline I fostered while overseeing the Town’s budgets.
Golf Losses
One of the first financial challenges I tackled was our money-losing golf courses. When I began my duties on the Town Council, golf required an operational subsidy of $2 million per year. The losses were primarily due to the fact that the courses were being managed like private country clubs rather than public municipal golf courses. At the time, Oro Vally was spending more on golf losses than the combined spending of every municipality in the state of Arizona that operated public golf courses. By changing operators and opening the courses to outside play, I was able to help turn things around while preserving the courses. Today, the golf courses and the associated restaurant are operationally in the black, and the sales tax which used to go to support them can be used to fund other important services such as roads and police.
Severely Unfunded Police Pension
What I soon learned as a newly elected member of the Town Council was that golf losses were not the only financial challenge. The prior council had long ignored the unfunded police pension that was growing at an unsustainable interest rate of 7% or more per year. By the time I was seated as a member of a new council majority, the police pension deficit was $27 million. Our council was able to fix this pension debt by utilizing $10 million from the Town’s reserve fund, made possible in part from an influx of money received during COVID. We then utilized a very low interest bond at 2.4% for the remaining portion of the unfunded liability. The action we took would be similar to a situation with a home mortgage where you pay a third of the mortgage off and refinance the rest at less than half the interest rate. In the long run, it saves money and that’s exactly what our actions did for Oro Valley. The Town saved estimated $30 million or more. In fact, having the pension invested in the stock market during record gains was one of the best things our council could have done for the future of Town finances. Now, our pension is fully funded, and we can make annual payment amounts that are related to what our Police officers make today rather than trying to make up an impossible unfunded deficit.
Low Debt Ratio
Because of the decisions made during my term on the Town Council, Oro Valley is now in a more secure place that it was 8 years ago. Oro Valley also now has the lowest debt per capita of any Southern Arizona city or town, and a very low portion of our budget going to debt payments.
Saving with a New Existing Police Building
When faced with the prospect of a $40-60 million-dollar new police station building that would require a new tax, I helped the Town Council find a less expensive solution. We purchased an existing building, the former urgent care at Rancho Vistoso Blvd and Oracle Road, for $3.8 million which is lower than the original listed price of about $4.5 million. By working to renovate an existing building over time in a cost-effective manner, we will meet the growing needs of our police officers without requiring a property tax.
Working to Bring in New Revenue
Oro Valley is largely funded by sales tax, bed tax, and state shared revenues. Because I am committed to meeting our growing financial needs without a property tax, I have worked to bring in new revenue through a strategic plan that focuses on annexation of existing real estate that generates the tax base Oro Valley needs. An example of this strategy was the Annexation of the Westward Look resort that brought in new bed tax and sales tax that totals approximately $1 million per year. I will continue to seek these strategic annexations for our Town that will bring in revenue without harming our water resources or services.
Confidence in the Budget
As Oro Valley reaches buildout, the amount of construction-related revenues the Town receives will not be as productive. Fortunately, construction sales taxes represent less than 4% of the Town budget and will not be eliminated as growth will continue at a moderate level. As construction sales tax revenues slow, I am committed to overseeing a budget that makes common sense financial choices and prioritizes key services such as police and roads while avoiding property taxes. I have voted against new taxes that have been proposed, seeking instead to evaluate financial decisions. Through my diligent oversight, the Town has a balanced budget and a balanced five-year forecast, as well as a ten-year plan that will soon be voted on by the residents. I am confident we have contingency plans in place for all financial circumstances that preserve our vital core services. When I am your mayor, my proven ability to find win-win financial solutions will continue to make Oro Valley prosper.