Other articles by Erica Meltzer:

County staff in $100K club up 87% since 2006Supervisors fret about Kino money, to file brief in Phoenix garage casePima weighs new, less-complicated system of building feesPima plans to buy 4 parcels for open spacePima County set to spend $12.8 million on land purchases Major data firm drops plan for S. Ariz. site amid power concerns Firm's input on Kino Hospital shushed Off-road track at center of Court of Appeals challenge Gate near river is cut, restored County gets role in Rosemont mine study

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION General
A1 Communications
Cable Techs Health Care
Sierra Tucson
Eating Disorders Program Coordinator

Many Pima County departments won't fill vacant positions so they can meet a requirement that they cut 5 percent from their total budgets.

Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry asked for the cuts — which total about $7.2 million — because the Legislature hasn't adopted a state budget and the county could be hit with cuts in state aid and state shared revenue.

The savings should be transferred to the budget-stabilization fund. If the fund is not needed to offset state cuts, it could be held as a cushion against a worsening economy, which could further reduce tax revenues, Huckelberry said.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors is set to approve the final budget Tuesday for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The tentative budget adopted last month called for only 2 percent cuts.

Debates over the budget have been marked by tension between the Republican minority, who wanted to see deeper cuts with the savings returned to taxpayers, and the Democratic majority, who said cuts had gone deep enough, with no raises for county workers and money for some social services cut.

Democratic Supervisor Richard Elías said he wished money could have been found to pay for raises for workers who earn less than $35,000 a year, but the county needs to be able to respond to whatever the Legislature does.

"Protecting ourselves by putting that money in the budget-stabilization fund seems like the smartest thing," he said.

Republican Supervisor Ray Carroll said he was glad to see additional cuts in the budget, but he still wondered whether Pima County could offer additional tax relief.

The proposed budget provides for a tax rate of $4.6291 per $100 assessed value, 40 cents less than this year. That would save the owner of a $200,000 home $80.

Carroll pointed to the $25 million subsidy the county provides University Physicians Healthcare to run the hospital at Kino and asked why UPH shouldn't tighten its belt as well.

County officials say UPH needs the subsidy because it provides more uncompensated care than other hospitals and is the only hospital serving the South Side.

He also questioned how the $7.2 million will be used if it is not needed to offset state cuts.

"That stabilization fund sounds like a way for three votes to fund some pet projects later in the year," he said, referring to the Democratic majority.

Huckelberry said not filling the vacant positions will reduce the county's ability to respond to emergencies, but most residents shouldn't notice a decline in services.

"I wouldn't say there is no impact, but it should not be dramatic or noticeable to the public," he said.