At yesterday’s Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting, the County’s unwillingness to provide relevant information was in sharp focus. The Board once again was asked to approve a contract retroactively; however, Board members had little information with which to make an informed vote.
Supervisors were asked to approve a contract for more than $130,000 for services and tenant improvements for the Valenzuela Youth Center in South Tucson. Supervisor Ally Miller requested the relevant contracts prior to the meeting; however, she received no response from County staff. Miller objected to the lack of information and the common practice of County Manager Chuck Huckelberry to seek Board approval after he has already taken action.
Miller inquired as why to the Board was receiving the contract nearly 8 months after the contract was agreed to. Staff advised Miller that they, or the City of South Tucson, had lost the original contract and as a result, a new one was created “to simply recognizing the authority of the county to complete those things.” Staff told Miller, “That’s the only part (of the contract) that goes back before the fiscal year.”
Miller told Huckelberry that she said was growing tired of voting to spend money without the necessary information.
“This is information that should be included in the background materials,” said Miller. “It’s not in there when I vote on an item. I’d like to know how much I’m approving. It’s beginning to get tedious because I’m voting on things that I have no idea how much money we’re spending. I understand the $130,000 for the two-year term. I get it. There was something lost somewhere in a change of administration, but when we’ve done these improvements, we should have the invoice for the amount of money we have spent. We should have back up material for the Board to review instead of waiting until after the fact. I always ask for reports, which I never receive. I feel like someone’s blowing smoke and I don’t get the information. I feel very strongly that this is the kind of information we should review before we ever vote on it.”
Despite the lack of detailed information, the Board voted 4-1 to approve the $130,000 contract.
According to Supervisor Miller, Pima County currently has more than 3.5 times the debt of all other counties in the State of Arizona combined as of November 21, 2013.
During the call to the audience, the Board heard from a Green Valley resident, who asked that the Board and County staff consider making a New Year’s resolution to return constituents’ telephone calls. The resident expressed concern about the flooding in Green Valley.
“Extra! Extra!” she said as she waved copies of the Green Valley News in the air, “Read all about it.”
She then distributed copies of the Green Valley News, which contained an op-ed by Emil Franzi attacking Supervisor Miller, the Arizona Daily Independent, and local radio show host James T. Harris.
“I know the paper won’t print that some of our neighbors should be looking into flood insurance or at least give them the option, but it will print the op-ed page there. It is the worst thing I’ve ever read in a newspaper. I never read anything bad about Mr. Carroll. Dan Shearer says it is a nonpartisan newspaper, but they’re very cozy with Mr. Carroll when he graces us with his presence. They roll out the red carpet. I’ve gotten to know you people, and I know your names, and I kind of feel sympathy when anyone who gets slammed this way in any newspaper. I would like to see a rebuttal. Whether it comes from Mr. Huckleberry, or the chairman.”
Franzi, a Republican establishment attack dog, penned the screed against Miller, a favorite in Southern Arizona due to her tenacious fight for transparency. Franzi made bizarre claims about the Arizona Daily Independent and complained about Harris’s popular Wednesday afternoon segment, Miller Time, in which Supervisor Miller is featured.
The attack by Franzi appeared to be in part a response to the Arizona Daily Independent’s request for emails from Supervisor Ray Carroll’s office. To date, of the reported 1200 plus emails requested, only 688 were turned over; of those, 143 were duplicates, 62 were calendar items. Only 28 sent items were handed over; of those, 8 were duplicates. A representative from the County Attorney’s Office claimed that they had no obligation to turn over personal correspondence, which was received or sent through the County’s email service by County staff.
A request for assistance for all the items is being made to the State of Arizona’s Ombudsman.
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