Two Arizona counties kick off special elections this week, with voters considering two new measures: raising taxes to fund the construction of new county jails and renewing contracts with Pima County’s largest power company. Some of the proposals are left with some minority, but Tucson residents are worried about where their money will go.

Special Election Begins in Tucson, Cochise County

Two special all-mail elections will be held today in Tucson and Cochise counties on two separate issues, including proposed tax increases.

In Tucson, voters are weighing whether to approve a new agreement with Tucson Power to use city-owned easements for public works for another 25 years.

However, some residents have expressed concerns over the agreement, which includes a 0.75% “community restoration fee” on top of existing utility bills to fund large-scale transmission line projects in the city centre. there is

Under this plan, the transmission line will be underground. many In Tucson, the costs are high and activists’ claims go against the city’s sustainability efforts. Underground relocation is supported by the city, which argues that if infrastructure projects are left above ground, it will affect scenic corridors and entrance corridors.

Cochise Considers Prison Tax

In Cochise County, voters will consider measures to create a new prison district and a provisional 5-cent sales tax for 25 years to fund a new county jail. The county’s current prison in Bisbee holds only 168 prisoners at a time and was not built to last more than 20 years when it was built in 1985.

“Our infrastructure is really bad.” Said Warden Kenneth Bradshaw at a county town hall meeting earlier this year. “Last summer, we had to run basically the entire facility on big, long extension cords … in the height of November and December, just beginning for the start of the new smuggling laws. At the time, our population was 320. 325 and the highest was 336, which means we have people on the floor.”

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