Board approves administrator’s Project Blue spending plan after debate; Christie votes no to full-road allocation

The Pima County Board of Supervisors adopted the county administrator’s recommended allocation of Project Blue land-sale proceeds after a contentious discussion over priorities.

Supervisor Christie proposed allocating the entire proceeds to the Department of Transportation for road repair in unincorporated areas, saying county land sales should directly return to road repair. Her motion lacked a second and failed. Supervisor Connell moved to adopt the administrator’s recommendation — a package that includes investments in public-records response systems, neighborhood/community reinvestment, utility assistance and weatherization, environmental health activities, economic development and workforce development — and the board approved that motion 4–1.

Why it matters: The proceeds from Project Blue are one-time funds derived from county land sales. Supervisors debated whether to prioritize immediate infrastructure work (roads) or to distribute funds across a set of programs intended to support long-term community services and administrative capacity. The adopted plan allocates funding across multiple priorities with implementation steps and some multi-year funding for program positions.

Representative comments: “County lands were sold and they should be returned to the public benefit,” Supervisor Christie said in urging a transportation-only allocation. Supervisor Connell, who moved the administrator’s recommendation, said the package balanced investments that support residents and good governance and highlighted $2 million for neighborhood reinvestment.

Ending: The board adopted the administrator’s March 18 recommendations and directed staff to implement the outlined allocations; the motion passed 4–1.