(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents a coalition of property and business owners throughout Pinal County who have worked to bring new transportation infrastructure to the region.)
By Pinal Central
FLORENCE — People who shop in Pinal County have been paying a half-cent sales tax to repair the roads for almost 40 years. Voters must agree to renew it every 20 years, and county officials are already making plans to put it on the ballot in the fall of 2024.
“Our system is built upon it now,” Pinal County Manager Leo Lew said. It not only benefits county roads, but municipalities receive a share for their own streets and roads based on population. In fiscal year 2021, Pinal County received $12.2 million from the tax, while the county’s cities and towns received a combined $12.5 million. Cities have come to rely on it.
“And they’ve expressed that to us, ‘If we lose this, we’re in trouble,’” Lew said. Sometimes referred to as “the pothole tax,” it is also called TIMP because it funds the county’s Transportation Improvement and Maintenance Program. If voters don’t renew it, the tax expires at the end of calendar year 2026.
