🔥 Tucson's Budget Battle Exposes Deep Divide: Corporate Giveaways Continue While PEEPS Program Faces Elimination | City Council Meeting
In unanimous vote, council selects Metropolitan Education Commission director to fill vacancy left by Richard Fimbres' retirement
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🏛️ The Tucson City Council met to talk about how to spend the city's 💰 next year. Many 👥 people came to the meeting because they were upset that the city might stop paying for a program that helps 🧒🏫 kids go to preschool. The council also chose a new member named Roque Perez to represent Ward 5️⃣ after the old member retired. They talked about how the city is getting really 🌡️ hot in the summer and voted to make a special 📅 week to teach people about 🔥 heat safety. Some council members came up with ideas to help people who can't find 🏠 places to rent. The most important decisions about the 💵 budget will happen at the next meetings on May 20 and June 3️⃣.
🗝️ Takeaways
🚔 The proposed FY 2026 budget increases police funding by $8.6 million while completely eliminating the $750,000 PEEPS early childhood education program
🏫 More than a dozen early childhood educators and advocates testified about the critical importance of PEEPS for low-income families
🔄 Council unanimously appointed Roque Perez, 29, to fill the Ward 5 vacancy left by Richard Fimbres' retirement
🏘️ Council member Cunningham's HAUS program would have the city act as a "cosigner" for tenants who struggle to qualify for rental housing
🌡️ Tucson recorded 118 heat-related deaths in 2024 and experienced over 110 days above 100°F, prompting unanimous passage of Heat Awareness Week resolution
💧 In a surprising reversal, council unanimously approved a water service appeal despite the city attorney's recommendation to deny
👷 City employees and union representatives criticized the proposed 1.2% wage increase while the city provides millions in corporate subsidies
The People vs. The Budget: Tucson City Council Meeting Reveals Deep Divide Between Community Needs and Political Priorities
A Three Sonorans deep dive into the May 6, 2025, Tucson City Council proceedings
On Tuesday, the Tucson City Council chambers teemed with frustration and determination as residents confronted their elected officials over a proposed budget that prioritizes policing over education, housing, and community services. The meeting exposed the growing rift between the community's priorities and city leadership's fiscal decisions amid the looming shadow of Trump-era federal cuts designed to starve local governments of resources for vulnerable populations.
Trump's budget slashes community development funding for poor and working-class communities, yet somehow city officials keep finding money for police and corporate giveaways. The math isn't mathing.
Power Players and Political Theater
The meeting featured a cast of characters whose words and actions revealed their political priorities:
Mayor Regina Romero: Chaired the meeting with visible concern about proposed federal budget cuts that would devastate housing and community development programs. "I don't recognize what we're seeing happen in our country right now," she lamented, noting that 93% of the city's housing community development department is funded through programs the Trump administration wants to eliminate. Her passionate rhetoric on federal cuts stood in contrast to her defense of the city's own proposed cuts to vital programs.
Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz: Delivered the most incisive critique of the day, calling out the rebranding of equity work as "strategic budget analysis" to appease conservative politics. "I think we're trying to fall into compliance ahead of time and kind of falling in line with what they want us to do," she observed, challenging the administration to "stand on why we moved in that direction to begin with and not try to smoke screen our way through it." Santa Cruz further questioned the methodology of the budget engagement survey, pointing out that participation from non-city residents skewed results toward more conservative priorities.
Council member Paul Cunningham: Presented an innovative housing program while simultaneously questioning various budget items, including a perplexing $280,000 for Bass Pro Shops. His comments about "foreign" undocumented workers—that "there's a coach of a club team who's also a coach of a little league team who leases under the little league lease even though he's charging extra money for the kids to play"—revealed problematic framing around immigration and labor issues.
City Manager Timothy Thomure: Defended the proposed budget with bureaucratic precision but struggled to address the moral implications of cutting early childhood education while increasing police funding. His responses to critical questioning often retreated to procedural explanations rather than engaging with the human impact of budget decisions.
City Attorney Mike Rankin: Provided sobering updates on federal funding uncertainty, noting that conditions being imposed by various federal agencies and departments are creating "enormous uncertainty" regarding hundreds of millions of dollars in current and future funding. The legal landscape, he explained, "is changing every week, sometimes every day as new lawsuits are filed, as new court orders are issued."
The Budget Battleground: Numbers That Tell a Story of Priorities
The study session laid bare the stark choices facing Tucson as it crafts its FY 2026 budget. The proposed allocations tell a story of priorities that many community members found deeply troubling:
An $8.6 million increase for the Tucson Police Department, bringing their allocation to approximately one-third of the city's general fund
Complete elimination of $750,000 for the Pima Early Education Program Scholarships (PEEPS), a program that provides early childhood education to low-income families
Underfunding the Tucson Fire Department by $6.6 million compared to 2025 actual expenditures, despite increasing fire risks due to climate change
Reductions in workforce across multiple departments: 13 from general services, 3 from housing, 5 from courts, 9 from the city manager's office
Proposed hotel tax increases to generate additional revenue, potentially at the expense of tourism sector workers
The budget decisions reflect a pattern of prioritizing policing over community needs, a choice many residents came to protest. As Liz Zhechki, a DSA co-chair, pointed out during public comment: "To a child from a low-income family, it says Tucson will prioritize criminalizing you over educating you."
Let's be crystal clear: every dollar spent on over-policing our communities is a dollar not spent on education, housing, or healthcare. These are political choices, not fiscal necessities.
Council member Cunningham raised questions about several curious expenditures:
"The first one is the $570,000 for the elevator is that because we have to replace the elevator for ADA compliance or is that because the elevator is falling apart and may kill somebody? Give me the story on the elevator because we we got an estimate for our elevator at Ward 2 for like four hundred thousand dollars and we we actually literally Googled triple A elevator repair Arizona the guy drove down and fixed it for like six grand."
During budget discussions, labor representatives highlighted that city employees hadn't received merit increases in almost 20 years, yet the administration found money for corporate subsidies. As Desi Navarro from CWA Local 7000 pointedly asked:
"We tell you that we need a sustainable living wage. You come with a 1.2% offer... You come to us with small business week and why you don't have money for the employees in these unions when you're giving Home Depot $520,000 in that budget, Bass Pro Shops $280,000, Texas Instruments $729,000, and SkyWest $494,000 for economic simulation."
Corporate welfare continues while workers are told to tighten their belts. This isn't a funding shortage—it's a priority shortage.
A New Face in Ward 5: Roque Perez Appointed
In a unanimous decision, the council appointed 29-year-old Roque Perez to fill the Ward 5 vacancy created by Richard Fimbres's retirement. The appointment follows a process that began with four candidates, one of whom—Robert "Bobby" Jaramillo—withdrew after learning he would need to resign from the Sunnyside School Board to serve on the council.
The three remaining candidates brought diverse perspectives:
David Garcia, owner of Barrio Restoration, spoke passionately about his work cleaning up neighborhoods and building community pride:
"We clean up the streets most likely people are not going to want to dump trash you know in the neighborhood they're going to see it's well-taking care of but it's also a representation of us you know and I take pride in the work I take my heart with it too and you know when somebody tells me no I can't do something or what you're doing isn't going to last it really bothers me because there's a perspective out there that nothing's going to get taken care of and I can tell you that we've added plants."
Gabriel Oguin, a current council aide for Ward 5, emphasized his existing relationships with constituents:
"As a councillor currently of Ward 5 I have supported constituents facing issues from housing needs and infrastructure needs and I have followed up on those concerns... When constituents have come to our office I have stayed I have listened and I have followed through."
Roque Perez, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Education Commission, highlighted his youth and community connections:
"If appointed I would also be the second youngest person ever to serve on this council following Roy Laos who was just 24 when he was elected to represent Ward 5 in the 70s and so I do see the value and I believe that this appointment can honor that tradition and send a message to younger generations that their leadership belongs at every table and that it's achievable if they show up and they show up in meaningful ways."
The decision to appoint Perez signals a desire for new perspectives. However, some community members questioned whether the appointment of an establishment-connected figure would bring the transformative leadership Ward 5 needs.
Young faces don't always mean new ideas. Will Perez represent the grassroots community or the political establishment that vetted him? The measure of leadership isn't age but whose interests you serve.
The People Speak: Public Hearings Expose Community Priorities
The public hearings revealed a community deeply concerned about the direction of their city and fiercely protective of programs they value.
Early Childhood Education: A Lifeline at Risk
More than a dozen speakers, primarily early childhood educators and advocates, delivered emotional testimony about the PEEPS program's importance. Their stories painted a vivid picture of what's at stake in the budget debate.
Kelly Griffith, Executive Director of the Center for Economic Integrity, urged the council to maintain funding for one more year while a sustainable solution is developed:
"We know your fundings are hard, impossible. You're trying to make choices that are just very, very challenging. But what I'm asking and what I've been begging is that just one more year, just give us one more year. We're not moving the goalpost. I promise you."
Kelsey Bronson, a preschool director at Prince Elementary School, explained how the program transforms children's futures:
"I really feel grateful because not only do I get to get to know the students, but I also get to know the families. So I get to host monthly family engagement activities and that allows families to participate in their children's learning. And I feel like it also gives them that drive to be involved in their children's education from preschool and follow them through college or a career, whatever they prefer to do."
Benjamin Collinsworth, a preschool teacher in the Flowing Wells Unified School District since 2014, used what he called his "teacher voice" to express disappointment:
"In fact, I need to utter that dreaded phrase that most of us hate to hear from any teacher, which is with some of you. I am very disappointed in your choices. To propose a budget that removes access to quality early childhood education for families in Tucson, no thank you friend. Try again."
This is about more than budgets. This is about whether we believe poor and working-class children deserve the same educational foundation as the wealthy. The politics of austerity always hit the youngest and most vulnerable first—that's not coincidence, it's by design.
Housing Crisis: Landlords vs. Tenants
Council member Cunningham presented his Housing Alternatives and Urban Strength (HAUS) program, designed to help residents with low incomes who struggle to qualify for rental housing. The program would:
Have the city guarantee up to $3,000 in case of eviction
Require tenants to attend classes on tenant responsibility and financial literacy
Include a voluntary agreement with landlords to limit rent increases after the first year
Connect tenants with water and internet assistance programs
While the program represents a creative approach to housing barriers, some questioned whether it adequately addresses the power imbalance between landlords and tenants or provides sufficient protection against exploitation.
Let's be real—this program still treats housing as a commodity rather than a human right. While it may help some individuals, it doesn't challenge the fundamental injustice of our housing system. We need rent control, not just rent management.
Climate Justice: Heat Killing Tucsonans
The council unanimously passed Resolution 23911 to designate May 5-9, 2025, as Heat Season Awareness Week, acknowledging the deadly impact of rising temperatures on vulnerable communities. Mayor Romero detailed the urgency:
"Tucson is one of the fastest warming cities in the country with increasing heat days and record breaking temperatures. In 2024 alone, Pima County recorded 118 heat related deaths with most of them occurring outdoors. The heat is not only intensifying, it's lasting longer. In fact, last summer, Tucson endured over 110 days of temperatures over 100 degrees."
Vice Mayor Santa Cruz highlighted that May 5th was also the National Day of Awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people, connecting multiple justice issues:
"This crisis is deeply rooted in ongoing colonization, systemic neglect and invisibilization of Indigenous communities. I want to uplift the advocacy of Indigenous-led organizations like our local Indivisible Tohono and all the matriarchs who have been fighting to bring attention to this issue."
The climate crisis and colonization share the same root causes—extraction, exploitation, and the devaluation of non-white lives. The city's heat mitigation efforts, while important, will remain insufficient until we address the underlying systems of oppression.
Water Policy Exception: A Rare Moment of Flexibility
In a surprising moment of flexibility, the council unanimously approved an appeal from Shannon Giles and Dennis Manley regarding water service to their property at 3635 West Camino Christy. The couple purchased the one-acre parcel in 2007, before the city's water policy was established in 2013, but found themselves unable to sell it because potential buyers couldn't get water service.
Despite City Attorney Mike Rankin's recommendation to deny the appeal, Council member Uhlich advocated for the exception:
"I don't even really want to open up the policy per se. I just feel that just on face value... the fact that it is surrounded and it's we're just kind of waiting for that southern parcel and if they did the circumstances faced by the appellant would be different."
The decision highlights how policy exceptions are often available to property owners while similar flexibility is rarely extended to those facing housing insecurity or other social needs.
Interesting how property rights can prompt flexibility in policy implementation while human rights struggles meet rigid adherence to rules. The moral calculus reveals whose interests truly matter in our governance structures.
HAUS Program: Innovation or Band-Aid?
Council member Cunningham's Housing Alternatives and Urban Strength (HAUS) program represents a creative attempt to address housing barriers, but questions remain about its scope and effectiveness.
Cunningham shared a story about "Dave" (name changed) to illustrate the problem:
"Dave was one of the people I visited and Dave ended up going to shelter and then to detox and then to rehab and then Dave got a job and Dave has now been in shelter for eight months... The hardest part Dave's had to get out of shelter is to get a lease multiple every single time Dave had to apply to work for a lease 75 dollars and then they'd see look Dave isn't without fault there were some times that his life was rough so they look at his background check when he applies for a lease and a lot of times he's just rejected summarily."
The program would leverage $4,800 in guaranteed funds per tenant to encourage landlords to accept renters who might otherwise be rejected, with a potential maximum exposure of around $100,000 for 40 units.
While the council unanimously supported the development of the program, some community members questioned whether it addressed the structural issues in Tucson's housing market or merely alleviated symptoms of a fundamentally broken system.
Band-aids don't heal broken bones. This program might help a few dozen people, but Tucson has thousands experiencing housing instability. We're shuffling the deck chairs on a sinking ship without addressing the commodification of housing itself.
Labor Rights: Workers Speak Truth to Power
City employees and union representatives delivered powerful testimony about the proposed budget's impact on workers.
Mike Sanchez from Teamsters Local 104, representing SunTran workers, connected transit safety, fair compensation, and public services:
"Every day, our members are on the front lines. They drive your buses. They maintain the fleet. They help seniors and disabled individuals get to medical appointments. But they cannot and should not be expected to do their job without the assurance of basic safety and support. Our members have been harassed, assaulted, and threatened while simply doing their jobs."
Desi Navarro from CWA Local 7000 pointed out the contradiction between claimed budget constraints and corporate giveaways:
"We tell you that we need a sustainable living wage. You come with a 1.2% offer. Your workers tell you that there's nobody that's approaching the pay ceilings. And your budget solution is to lower the pay ceilings instead of paying your employees more."
Kevin Holder, a city employee since 1997, spoke about the impact of stagnant wages:
"When I first started working for the city. It was it was good. It was really good. There were merits. But then the merits went away. They went away and in 2006. And that and that was it. So next year. It's going to be 20 years. It's going to be 20 years since the sense we we've had merits. And when you implement merit merits, it motivates an employee. It motivated me."
The systematic undermining of public sector workers is core to the neoliberal playbook—starve public services, demoralize workers, then claim government doesn't work and privatize everything for profit. Tucson workers deserve better, and so do the community members who depend on the services they provide.
The Stakes: Real Lives, Real Consequences
The passionate public testimony demonstrated how budget decisions directly impact Tucson's most vulnerable residents.
April, a Ward 1 resident, delivered a scathing critique of the budget's moral dimensions:
"The fiscal year 26 budget recommendation by the city manager's office is a sad indication of the moral and ethical failures of the department and the city of Tucson more broadly. We face a climate crisis and the city manager recommends underfunding Tucson Fire by over $6.6 million compared to TFD's 2025 actual expenditures. These expenditures represent what TFD needed to spend to protect us from fire and fire poses a real and growing threat to lives and homes."
She continued, highlighting the fundamental questions at stake:
"The city budget is a moral document. I encourage leadership to plant the seeds now for the future that we want to reap. We cannot keep disinvesting in our youth. We cannot shirk true public safety precautions against very real and growing climate threats like fire all in order to increase funding to TPD which contributes to a system of violence for which there are more humane and effective alternatives."
Jonathan Salvatiera spoke about the need for public ownership of utilities, specifically Tucson Electric Power:
"TEP and APS have applied for taking one of their old defunct coal burning facilities and turning it into a nuclear facility as one of the most profitable non-profit organizations they must turn information and and act in a way that contributes to the community turning back some of that profit so it's it's just not a free greatest thing."
Ariel Dizsoce spoke about development and questioned the Rio Nuevo board's selection process:
"I'm unclear as to how and why Rio Nuevo holds the cards in this situation. Rio Nuevo is a TIF district supported by our tax revenue... Furthermore Rio Nuevo does not necessarily abide to the TIF district as they have provided enormous resources to for example Corbett's which technically falls outside of the TIF district."
The public testimony made clear that across multiple issues—from education to housing to utilities to labor rights—Tucsonans want a different kind of city than what the budgetary priorities reflect. This isn't just about line items; it's about what kind of community we want to build together.
Road Ahead: Budget Process Continues
The meeting represents just one step in the budget process, with Mayor Romero noting:
"The next decision point that we have is basically to approve the cap of the budget but the conversation can still happen in terms of the details."
Key upcoming dates include:
May 20th: Tentative budget adoption (setting the spending cap)
June 3rd: Final action on the detailed budget
June 17th: Study session on transit fares and additional revenue sources
The coming weeks offer a crucial window for community input to shape the final budget priorities before they're locked in for the next fiscal year.
A Different Vision Is Possible
Despite the challenges revealed in this meeting, Tucson's community advocates demonstrated that a different vision is possible—one centered on human needs rather than bureaucratic priorities or corporate interests.
The spirited defense of early childhood education, the creative approaches to housing barriers, and the focus on climate justice and labor rights all point to a community willing to fight for a more equitable and sustainable future.
As Tucson navigates difficult budget choices and significant policy decisions, the coming weeks will determine whether the city's leadership listens to the community's priorities or continues down a path that many residents see as misaligned with their values and needs.
Your Voice, Your City: Taking Action
The passionate testimony from community members at this meeting demonstrates the power of public engagement. Your participation becomes more crucial as Tucson navigates difficult budget choices and significant policy decisions.
Here's how you can get involved:
Attend upcoming council meetings: Mark May 20th and June 3rd on your calendar for critical budget votes
Contact your council representative: Their job is to represent YOU, not just manage the city
Join a neighborhood association: Local organizing builds power from the ground up
Support community organizations: Groups fighting for housing, education, and climate justice need your help
Subscribe to Three Sonorans Substack: Keep receiving in-depth analysis of local politics from a progressive perspective that centers marginalized voices and exposes the power dynamics behind policy decisions
Your city's budget is a moral document that reflects whose lives and futures matter. Will Tucson invest in policing or education? Corporate subsidies or worker protections? The status quo or a just transition to a sustainable future? These questions won't be answered by officials alone—they'll be determined by whether the community continues to show up and demand better.
¡Juntos somos más fuertes! El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!
Support Three Sonorans Substack to keep this news and analysis coming. The corporate media won't tell these stories—we need independent journalism that speaks truth to power and centers the communities most impacted by policy decisions.
What impacts from these budget decisions are you already seeing in your neighborhood? How has the shift toward increased policing affected your community's sense of safety and well-being? Share your experiences in the comments below.
This report was compiled from the May 6, 2025, Tucson City Council Meeting. All quotes are drawn directly from the meeting transcript. The author acknowledges that no summary can capture every nuance of a complex public meeting, and encourages readers to watch the full proceedings on the City of Tucson's YouTube channel.
Quotes:
"The budget demonstrates our values more clearly than any statement could. When we cut early childhood education while increasing police funding, we are making a choice about whose future matters in our community." - Vice Mayor Santa Cruz, during budget discussion
"We tell you that we need a sustainable living wage. You come with a 1.2% offer... You come to us with small business week and why you don't have money for the employees in these unions when you're giving Home Depot $520,000 in that budget, Bass Pro Shops $280,000, Texas Instruments $729,000, and SkyWest $494,000 for economic simulation." - Desi Navarro, CWA Local 7000, during public comment
"To propose a budget that removes access to quality early childhood education for families in Tucson, no thank you friend. Try again." - Benjamin Collinsworth, preschool teacher, during public comment
"I think we're trying to fall into compliance ahead of time and kind of falling in line with what they want us to do so I'm going to push, continue to push back on that because I think this is a moment where we got to stand on why we moved in that direction to begin with and not try to smoke screen our way through it." - Vice Mayor Santa Cruz, on rebranding equity work as "strategic budget analysis"
"The city budget is a moral document. I encourage leadership to plant the seeds now for the future that we want to reap. We cannot keep disinvesting in our youth." - April, Ward 1 resident, during public comment
People Mentioned:
Mayor Regina Romero: "I don't recognize what we're seeing happen in our country right now." (Discussing federal budget cuts targeting vulnerable populations)
Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz: "I think we're trying to fall into compliance ahead of time and kind of falling in line with what they want us to do." (Criticizing rebranding of equity work)
Council member Paul Cunningham: "The hardest part Dave's had to get out of shelter is to get a lease... they look at his background check and a lot of times he's just rejected summarily." (Explaining the need for his HAUS program)
Council member Kevin Dahl: "Is our elevator in danger of failing?" (Questioning $570,000 elevator replacement)
Council member Nikki Lee: "Having a dependency on your neighbors to the south to get water in order for you to get water when the parcel below you is obligated already doesn't make a lot of sense to me." (Discussing water policy appeal)
Council member Karin Uhlich: "I don't even really want to open up the policy per se. I just feel that just on face value... the fact that it is surrounded and it's we're just kind of waiting for that southern parcel." (Supporting water policy exception)
Roque Perez (Ward 5 appointee): "I would also be the second youngest person ever to serve on this council following Roy Lauz who was just 24 when he was elected to represent Ward 5 in the 70s." (During his presentation)
Timothy Thomure (City Manager): "The department and the manager are to follow the water service area policy of the city of Tucson, which is set by mayor and council." (Defending water policy)
Mike Rankin (City Attorney): "The legal landscape is changing every week, sometimes every day as new lawsuits are filed, as new court orders are issued." (On federal funding uncertainty)
Desi Navarro (CWA Local 7000): "We tell you that we need a sustainable living wage. You come with a 1.2% offer." (Criticizing city's labor practices)
Kelly Griffith (Center for Economic Integrity): "But what I'm asking and what I've been begging is that just one more year, just give us one more year." (Pleading for PEEPS funding)
Benjamin Collinsworth (preschool teacher): "With some of you, I am very disappointed in your choices." (Using his "teacher voice" during public comment)
David Garcia (Ward 5 applicant): "We clean up the streets most likely people are not going to want to dump trash you know in the neighborhood they're going to see it's well-taking care of." (Describing his community work)
Shannon Giles (water appeal appellant): "It is plain from reading this document that denying water service to that one acre parcel in the middle of an already serviced infrastructure was never the intention of this policy." (Arguing for her appeal)
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