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Resident urges council to boost pay for police, fire and consider revenue options
Summary
Marcelino Arona Jr., a Nogales resident, urged the City Council to address public safety salaries and to consider revenue options after noting regional recruitment pressure and citing border crossing data he said supports sales‑tax revenue potential.
During the public‑comment period of the June 24 meeting, resident Marcelino Arona Jr. urged the Nogales City Council to address police and fire salaries and to involve the community in decisions about revenue measures.
Arona identified himself as Marcelino Arona junior of 826 North Flinda Vista Drive and said he previously chaired a committee that asked residents to approve an increase in the sales tax. “The sales tax is what keeps this community alive,” Arona said, urging the council to ensure public safety compensation keeps pace with recruitment pressure from nearby agencies.
Arona told the council he is concerned that larger nearby departments are actively recruiting officers locally, which he described as creating a “revolving door” for staff trained at city expense. He also cited United States Department of Transportation figures for January–April 2025: “3,400,000 total people cross the border which was a minus 2.1%. 1,200,000 cars cross during that period of time which is a minus 4.9. 1,100,000 pedestrians going northbound crossed… which was a good sign of a positive increase of 7.6%.” Arona said these crossing populations are the city’s sales‑tax base and argued the council must examine revenues to sustain services.
He praised local STEM investments but questioned the fiscal benefit to the city from a new “Central/Centro” facility, noting that if that facility does not sell goods locally it would not generate sales tax revenue to support municipal services. He also urged more parks and recreation funding for youth.
Arona concluded by calling on the council to reconsider spending priorities and revenue strategies to retain police and fire personnel. The mayor thanked him for his comments; there was no formal council action tied directly to his remarks during the meeting excerpt.
