Tucson Metro Chamber Board Votes to Support Proposition 101, Road Improvements and Public Safety

Tucson, AZ (February 14, 2017) – The Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors today voted to support Proposition 101, the City of Tucson’s temporary half-cent sales tax increase to fund road improvements and capital expenditures critical to public safety. It did so for several reasons:

• Improving the condition of our roadways improves the aesthetics of our community. Aesthetics are vital to quality of life and our community’s “curb appeal” to new job creators.
• Multiple surveys sent to local business executives confirm that they are demanding that the condition of our local streets be improved.
• When asked about their preferred funding mechanism for street repair the business community has demonstrated an “all of the above” preference, meaning that fixing the streets is more important than where the funding comes from.
• The City of Tucson has managed the funds it has received through a previous $100 million bond measure exceptionally well, repairing 40% more lane miles than it had originally budgeted for.
• Proposition 101 will sunset in five years, meaning this is NOT a permanent tax.

“Business executives have been abundantly clear that they want and need better streets and roads in Tucson and in Pima County,” states Tucson Metro Chamber President & CEO Mike Varney. “We support the City of Tucson sales tax plan because our investors have made this issue a priority and because we believe the City of Tucson has managed its previous funding for street improvement with a high level of trust and delivery.”

About The Tucson Metro Chamber The mission of the Tucson Metro Chamber is to lead and advocate for a successful community. The Chamber is an investor-based business advocacy and economic expansion organization that represents more than 1,500 businesses, employing more than 160,000 employees in the greater Tucson area.

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