By Caitlin Schmidt for Arizona Daily Star
Tucson’s Police and Fire departments have asked the City Council to approve nearly $150M in new vehicles, equipment and facilities that would be paid for by a proposed half-cent sales tax up for voter approval in May.
On Dec. 20, 2016, the council approved a plan to split the sales tax revenue between public safety needs and road repairs, with 60 percent of the anticipated $50M in annual revenue to be used for public safety capital needs.
During the Jan. 24, 2017 meeting, the council will discuss how the money will be spent and voting whether to approve the Public Safety Capital Reinvestment plan prepared by City Manager Mike Ortega’s office. How the city allocates the money could change before a final vote is taken.
The bulk of the expenses will go toward improvements for the Tucson Fire Department, which has asked for $89M over the next five years to replace vehicles and equipment and to repair and rebuild aging fire stations.
Nearly $27M of the department’s requested funds will be dedicated to rebuilding five stations across town, including one near Campbell Avenue and East Broadway that is involved in a national study to determine whether the building is exposing firefighters to toxic levels of known carcinogens.
The Tucson Police Department says it has $53M in capital needs, including more than 550 new vehicles. The $21M price tag will provide more than 250 marked and 160 unmarked vehicles to its aging fleet, as well as 24 motorcycles and 11 specialized vehicles.
Other items on the proposed plan include:
- $2.5M for a new police helicopter.
- $2.4M for maintenance and a buildout on the Public Safety Training Academy.
- $3.9M for patrol laptops.
- $1.5M for 750 police Tasers.
- $850,000 for firearms replacement.
- $1.2M for new turnout gear for 490 firefighters.
Read more at Arizona Daily Star.