Sahuarita council unanimously recommends RTA "Next" plan be placed on March 2026 ballot

The Town of Sahuarita Council voted unanimously to recommend that the Pima County Board of Supervisors place the Regional Transportation Authority(RTA) "RTA Next" plan on the March 2026 ballot, Mayor Murphy said at a special meeting where RTA staff and regional leaders presented the 20-year transportation plan.

The recommendation came after a presentation by Mike Ortega, interim executive director of the RTA, who described the plan as a regional, 20-year program of road, transit, bicycle, pedestrian and safety projects built on conservative revenue estimates and lessons from the 2006 RTA program. Ortega said the RTA board has already adopted the plan and passed a resolution asking the county to call the election.

Why it matters: Council members and RTA staff emphasized timing. Under state statute cited in the presentation, a sales-tax-based transportation measure must take effect April 1 following the election; Ortega and town staff said a March 2026 vote is necessary to avoid a funding gap when the current RTA tax expires on June 30, 2026. Ortega warned that without timely voter approval, regional transit programs that now cost about…