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Rural residents tell Cochise County supervisors they pay taxes but lack road maintenance; board schedules work sessions
Summary
Residents told the Cochise County Board of Supervisors that ungraded rural roads leave them isolated and unsafe. Supervisors said work sessions and public meetings will be scheduled to consider adding and deleting roads from the county maintenance schedule.
Several Cochise County residents told the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 16 that they pay county taxes yet receive little or no road maintenance, and urged the county to grade and repair remote roads more frequently.
Resident Alfred Kern said he has been raising the issue for three years: "We all pay our taxes, but we have no services," and asked the county to grade the gravel roads north of Cipriano and San Mateo. George Adams, who said he recently had a heart attack, described a 2.5-mile stretch near Calleville as "horrible" and said some drivers in small cars cannot use it after storms.
The board acknowledged the complaints and alerted residents that staff is preparing additional public meetings. A county official told speakers that work sessions and board meetings on adding and deleting roads from the county road maintenance schedule will be publicly noticed and residents are welcome to attend and present their cases.
Why it matters: rural road maintenance affects access for residents, emergency vehicles and local economic activity. Supervisors said the county must balance limited resources and consider changes to how it prioritizes grading across many low‑traffic roads.
Board response and next steps: a supervisor said the board has directed public works staff to review how roads are selected for grading and to "revamp the way we're doing it," and encouraged residents to provide road locations and contact information to county staff so their concerns can be addressed at the upcoming meetings. The board noted that expanding economic development and bringing businesses into the county could increase revenue available for maintenance.
Public comment context: remarks on rural road maintenance came during the meeting's call to the public. The transcript shows no formal motion to change maintenance policy at this meeting; instead the matter was referred to future work sessions and public hearings where staff will present options and public testimony will be accepted.
Ending: County staff told residents they will be publicly notified of the road-scheduling work sessions. Attendees who cannot remain were asked to leave contact information with the clerk for follow-up.
