Fitch Ratings on Thursday affirmed Pima County’s general obligation bond program, with a ratings outlook that is stable.

Fitch Ratings cited a number of positive drivers that led to the AA rating, which denotes a very high credit quality with expectations that there is strong capacity to fund financial commitments. It allows the County to pay a lower interest rate on its voter-approved bond projects.

The report indicates Pima County “maintains a sound financial profile with healthy operating revenues.”

Among the findings:

• County management has responded aggressively to the economic downturn and accompanying revenue declines over the recent past, making necessary spending adjustments to maintain fiscal balance and a satisfactory financial cushion.
• The County’s debt burden is manageable and debt repayment is rapid.
• Conservative fiscal management has supported historically strong financial performance, with ongoing spending reductions to absorb revenue declines, while avoiding large-scale layoffs, furloughs, pay reductions and service cutbacks.
• Although secondary assessed valuation has declined roughly 18 percent since the market downturn, the County’s expectation of two additional years of decline appears reasonable. Meanwhile, the County’s unemployment rate is improved from the prior year, with the most recent rate comparing favorably with the state and U.S. averages.

“We are pleased that Fitch has affirmed the County’s continued stability and future outlook,” said Chief Deputy County Administrator Martin Willett. “We take our responsibility to taxpayers seriously and are gratified that the ratings show Pima County continues to demonstrate strong fiscal stewardship.”

For more information, please visit www.fitchratings.com

It is going to take $268 million and comprehensive transportation funding reform to bring Pima County’s poor and failing roads up to standard. And that money isn’t readily available.

In a new transportation funding report released Thursday, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry outlined a number of strategies that will help manage short-term needs, including a $5 million general fund appropriation in the coming budget year to target key areas for pavement preservation and maintenance, and a request that the Legislature return some or all of the state-shared gasoline tax revenues that were siphoned away from cities, towns and counties to balance the state budget.

But ultimately, he said, with jurisdictions throughout the nation facing similar funding challenges, it is going to take a combined effort at the national, state and local levels to come up with a long-term fix.

“There is no single recommendation that will significantly resolve our existing highway maintenance investment dilemma, let alone allow us to make the investments to prepare for future needs that will support economic vitality in the region, whether that is in air, transit or rail systems,” he said. “We need to focus on the problem using multiple strategies and continue to stress the need for long-term, stable and consistent funding for transportation.”

There are a number of reasons that transportation funding hasn’t kept up with demand:

• State gas tax: At 19 cents per gallon, which includes a penny for environmental remediation of underground storage tanks, the gas tax has not increased since 1991 and remains one of the lowest in the nation. Meanwhile, over that 22-year period, construction costs have increased by 96 percent. The same dollar of revenues in 1991 can now only buy 51 cents of highway improvements.
• Economic conditions. State-shared transportation revenues from the gas tax in 2012 were $44 million – lower than at any time dating back to 1999. People just aren’t filling up like they used to. They may be intentionally driving less to save money on high gasoline costs, which have doubled since 2005. Their vehicles are 20 percent more efficient than they were 10 years ago, which means they use less gas but cause just as much wear-and-tear on the roads.
• Fund sweeps. If the State Legislature had not swept shared transportation revenues to balance the budget, Pima County would have had $38 million more for highway maintenance and repair.

Pima County Supervisors recently have invested approximately $20 million in road repair, but that has taken care of only 10 percent of the problem. The County isn’t alone in trying to find answers to these challenges.

In Virginia, lawmakers are pushing a plan that would restructure the gas tax from a flat cents-per-gallon fee to a percentage of sales that would rise over time with inflation. As of July, Wyoming will increase its gas tax from 14 cents to 24 cents. Oregon is weighing per-mile fees for high-efficiency vehicles. It is a discussion taking place across the nation.

Among the additional steps inArizonathat can be taken in the near term to provide more revenues:

• The state can steer the one-cent gas tax allocation for underground storage tanks to pavement repair and maintenance, given regulatory and technological advances that should diminish the magnitude of the contamination problem;
• The state can increase the state gasoline tax by 10 cents to coincide with the 29.7-cents-per-gallon average gasoline tax of the surrounding states. It’s not popular. But it’s necessary.
• Ensure that any future funding initiative, such as the renewal of the Regional Transportation Authority tax, allocates a significant portion of the revenues to pavement preservation and repairs.

To read the report in its entirety, please visit http://www.pima.gov/Administration/bd-transportation%20funding%20report.pdf

The Town of Marana will run its own sewer plant under a final settlement approved by the Pima County Board of Supervisors that will end a years-long conflict over wastewater.

The dispute has lingered since 2007, featuring an unsuccessful annexation attempt of the plant by Marana, as well as the passage of a state law allowing the transfer of the facility to the Town for just the cost of the outstanding debt,

The County extended settlement offers in December 2012, which hinged on Town voters agreeing that they wanted to be in the wastewater business. Voters provided that OK in March.

The settlement, which sets a purchase price of $18.2 million for the plant, also required the repeal of the state laws allowing Marana to take possession of the plant without paying full price. The laws were successfully repealed earlier this legislative session.

Under the agreement, Marana will operate the plant to serve areas in north Marana, while Pima County retains control and operation of the sewer system for the remainder of the town and surrounding unincorporated areas. The County will support the Town’s efforts to get beneficial use for as much effluent as possible that is discharged from the plant, minus certain requirements such as for tribal water rights settlements and conservation purposes.

Although Supervisor Richard Elías expressed concern that the agreement is a step away from regionalism, Supervisors Sharon Bronson and Ally Miller said they welcomed a stronger relationship in the future with Marana. Supervisor Ray Carroll agreed. “It brings local control to Marana. That’s what they wanted and they’re willing to pay for it. I do believe they should be careful what they wish for, but they have it now and I wish them all the success in the world,” Carroll said.

Marana Town Council member Roxanne Ziegler told Board members she will be thrilled not to have to go into more executive sessions to talk about wastewater. “It’s been a long haul. We’re five years into it…and we’ve had a lot of ups and downs and peaks and valleys,” she said, thanking the Board for its patience over the years.

Her Council colleague Dave Bowen echoed her sentiments. “We look forward to a great and amicable relationship in the years ahead,” he said, adding that he anticipates working together to complete projects that will be good for the citizens of Marana andPimaCounty.

Supervisor Bronson thanked the Town for entering into constructive dialogue with the County in recent months. “We’re looking forward to moving on to better things,” she said.

The Marana Town Council is expected to take up the issue at its study session this evening.

To read the settlement agreement in its entirety, please visit http://www.pima.gov/cob/e-agenda/04092013/ADDExecSessC_TownofMaranaSettlement.pdf

Job hunting can be challenging in the best of circumstances, but for those who have fled to America to escape war or persecution, there may also be barriers of language, culture and education to confront.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors agreed to allocate $34,000 to help refugees with job training and transportation, through a program run by Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona. The donation matches a similar grant from the Click Family Foundation. While the City of Tucson will not provide direct monetary support, it will provide in-kind services in the areas of transit, housing and parks and recreation.

The donation emerged from a community response group that was organized in September 2012 with the participation of Supervisor Richard Elías and other community leaders, including educators, business interests and church representatives.

Applauding the good will of the Click family and recognizing the leadership of Catholic Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, Supervisor Elías said he was heartened that the County could do its part to help the growing refugee community. “Our refugees come from all over the world, but most typically from war-torn circumstances where their families have suffered great personal loss,” he said.

To find out more about how you can help Catholic Social Services in its goals to improve the lives of refugees, please visit http://www.ccs-soaz.org/Catholic-Social-Service-Migration-and-Refugee-Services.html.

Executives and experts in the fields of aerospace, manufacturing and machining will talk about workforce issues at the April 12 Pima County Workforce Investment Board meeting.

Alex Rodriguez, Director of the Southern Arizona office of the Arizona Technology Council, will give an overview of the aerospace/defense industry and workforce issues. Pam Summers, Human Resources Director at Abrams Airborne Manufacturing, and Jeremy Schalk, Vice President of Operations and Sales at Hi-Tech Machining and Engineering, will talk about a local machinists’ focus group and its efforts.

One-Stop Career Center staff will provide information about current workforce issues and needs, grants, and training opportunities, including Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization.

The meeting will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the Pima Community College Aviation Technology Center, 7211 S. Park Ave. It usually concludes by 9 a.m. and is open to the public.

The Pima County Workforce Investment Board is authorized by the Department of Labor and appointed by the Pima County Board of Supervisors to provide recommendations on local workforce policy and oversight of the Pima County One-Stop Career Center that connects eligible job-ready youth, adult and dislocated workers in local growth, high-demand industry occupations. It includes representatives of local businesses, nonprofits and educational institutions.

For more information, please visit http://www.pima.gov/ced/agencies-workforce-investment-board.shtml.

Young people ages 14-21 can explore career opportunities in aerospace, defense, manufac-turing and machining at Pima County’s free Youth Career Expo on Wednesday, April 10.

Youth must RSVP by 5 p.m. Friday, April 5. Fill out the RSVP form at http://www.pima.gov/ced/employment-training/et-summer-youth-program.shtml, save it to your computer and email it as an attachment to Rebecca.Pitman@acehs.org or fax it to her at 520-791-9893. Also email her any concerns or issues completing the form.

The Expo will run from 3 to 6 p.m. at Tucson International Airport, 7250 S. Tucson Blvd.

It will feature exhibits and representatives from aerospace, defense, manufacturing and machining employers and educators, including the University of Arizona Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department, the Pima Community College Aviation Program, CAID Industries, Prototron Circuits, and Ascent Aviation Services.

Participants will have opportunities to attend presentations and participate in discussions about various career choices.

About 300 young people attended the first Pima County Youth Career Expo in November, which focused on health-care careers.

The Expos are organized by the Pima County Workforce Investment Board Youth Council and the Pima County One-Stop Career Center.

For more information about the April 10 Expo, please contact Dana Katbah at 520-798-0500 or PledgeaJob@pima.gov or Vaughn Croft at 520-724-3018 or VCroft@pima.gov.

For more information about One-Stop, please visit
www.pima.gov/ced/employment-training.shtml.

For more information about the Workforce Investment Board, go to www.pima.gov/ced/agencies-workforce-investment-board.shtml.

Emerging technology that can help detect diseases and help doctors pinpoint therapeutic interventions to keep patients healthier longer will be key to capitalizing on the region’s expanding biosciences market, according to a new study.

With the region already home to leaders in the biotech arena, such as Ventana Medical Systems, Sanofi and others,PimaCountyapplauds the new strategy unveiled by Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities that identifies a new recruitment and retention focus on medical diagnostics.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said developing a critical mass in the biosciences will be important not only for the synergy created when companies can share talent, facilities and infrastructure, but for four primary reasons:

• Diagnostics has significant potential for economic benefit, which is why Pima County has already made substantial investments to support this emerging niche. Pima County supported the recent expansion of Roche by forgiving roughly $8.3 million in property taxes. More recently, Pima County invested in wet lab space to secure the relocation of the new corporate headquarters of the bioscience company Accelerate Diagnostics. Such investments are paying off. Accelerate, which held its grand opening mere weeks ago, has already hired 30 employees and is recruiting for more than a dozen other positions. The average annual wage for its research and development team: $102,040.
• Fast, accurate diagnostics strengthen public health and wellness in a multitude of ways. Depending on the application, they can be used not only to diagnose and monitor disease, but can have predictive capabilities that can help evaluate future risk of illness. With one of Pima County’s core priorities ensuring the health and wellness of our community, the Pima County Health Department provides services that support the health, safety and well-being of our residents
• Earlier diagnoses can help reduce the costs of care associated with hospitalization by making sure patients have more information about managing and preventing chronic illness. As a partner with University Medical Center– South Campus, Pima County is supportive of such efforts to lower costs and improve patient outcomes.
• The more timely and accurate the diagnoses, and the more that treatment plans can be tailored to individual patients, the stronger the likelihood that fewer unnecessary tests and ineffective services will be ordered. As a consumer of health care for employees, Pima County supports all of the puzzle pieces that work together to rein in the ever-increasing cost of health care.

“Not only are these new technologies breaking ground in providing effective patient care, but they represent a new frontier in economic development that really meshes with our regional strength in biosciences,” said Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson, who sits on the TREO board. “We look forward to working with our other partners in the region to help target the growth of this industry.”

To read the full report, please visit http://www.treoaz.org/media/docs/Reports/Diagnostics-Strategy-FINAL-3-25-2013.pdf

Young people ages 14-21 can explore career opportunities in aerospace, defense, manufac-turing and machining at Pima County’s free Youth Career Expo on Wednesday, April 10.

Seating is limited! Youth must RSVP by Sunday, March 31. Fill out the RSVP form at http://www.pima.gov/ced/employment-training/et-summer-youth-program.shtml, save it to your computer and email it as an attachment to Rebecca.Pitman@acehs.org or fax it to her at 520-791-9893. Also email her any concerns or issues completing the form.

The Expo will run from 3 to 6 p.m. at Tucson International Airport, 7250 S. Tucson Blvd.

It will feature exhibits and representatives from aerospace, defense, manufacturing and machining employers and educators, including the University of Arizona Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department, the Pima Community College Aviation Program, CAID Industries, Prototron Circuits, and Ascent Aviation Services.

Participants will have opportunities to attend presentations and participate in discussions about various career choices.

About 300 young people attended the first Pima County Youth Career Expo in November, which focused on health-care careers.

The Expos are organized by the Pima County Workforce Investment Board Youth Council and the Pima County One-Stop Career Center.

For more information about the April 10 Expo, please contact Dana Katbah at 520-798-0500 or PledgeaJob@pima.gov or Vaughn Croft at 520-724-3018 or VCroft@pima.gov.

For more information about One-Stop, please visit www.pima.gov/ced/employment-training.shtml.

For more information about the Workforce Investment Board, go to www.pima.gov/ced/agencies-workforce-investment-board.shtml.

Pima County is the home to more than 67,000 self-employed businesses!

Librarians at Pima County Public Library are ready to help your business grow with a free hands-on workshop. On Saturday, March 23, 10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Avenue, Lower Level Meeting Room, you can learn how to:

• Locate potential customers
• Find demographic data
• Track industry trends
• Gather market research

Bring your own laptop or you can use one of ours. The library has plenty of free databases that are available right at your fingertips.

Register for our workshop by calling the library Infoline at 791-4010 or register online here.

About Pima County Public Library
The Pima County Public Library (PCPL), which is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, enriches lives and builds community through opportunities to learn, know, interact and grow. With 27 public libraries serving Tucson and the surrounding communities of Arivaca, Green Valley, Sahuarita, South Tucson, Ajo, Marana, Oro Valley and Catalina, PCPL provides a wide range of free services that contribute to the economic development of the community. For more information, visit www.library.pima.gov.

Young people ages 14-21 who want to explore careers in aerospace, defense, manufacturing and machining are encouraged to attend Pima County’s free Youth Career Expo on Wednesday, April 10.

The Expo will run from 3 to 6 p.m. at Tucson International Airport, 7250 S. Tucson Blvd., and will feature exhibits and representatives from aerospace, defense, manufacturing and machining employers and educators.

Participants will have opportunities to attend presentations and participate in discussions about various career choices.

Seating is limited. Young people who want to attend must RSVP no later than Sunday, March 31. Fill out the RSVP form at  http://www.pima.gov/ced/employment-training/et-summer-youth-program.shtml, save it to your computer and email it as an attachment to Rebecca.Pitman@acehs.org or fax it to her at 520-791-9893.

About 300 young people attended the first Pima County Youth Career Expo in November, which focused on health-care careers.

The Expos are organized by the Pima County Workforce Investment Board Youth Council and the Pima County One-Stop Career Center.

For more information about the April 10 Expo, please contact Dana Katbah at 520-798-0500 or PledgeaJob@pima.gov or Vaughn Croft at 520-724-3018 or VCroft@pima.gov.

For more information about One-Stop, please visit
www.pima.gov/ced/employment-training.shtml.

For more information about the Workforce Investment Board, go to www.pima.gov/ced/agencies-workforce-investment-board.shtml.