Finding “no viable path forward” for highway construction projects, the Pinal Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors has voted to suspend operations.
The nine-year-old Board is comprised of 11 mayors and city council members from Pinal County who work toward improving regional transportation solutions.
A particularly troublesome combination of issues has been improvements to State Route 347 and project funding after the Arizona Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved transportation tax.
Maricopa County’s Proposition 479, a continuation of the County’s half-cent transportation sales tax, was approved in this month’s election and provides some funding for SR 347 improvements on the Maricopa County side.
After the PRTA meeting, Maricopa City Councilmember Vincent Manfredi said financing for improvements on the Pinal County side still needs to be located and suggested a possible half-cent sales tax from the City of Maricopa could be a possibility. That idea will need to be discussed and approved by the Maricopa City Council before possible action can be taken.
Not all of the projects on the PRTA radar are languishing, however. Manfredi said funding remains in place for improvements on Riggs Road.
PRTA developed a Regional Transportation Plan that was approved by voters in a November 2017 election, along with a half-cent sales tax that was expected to generate $640M for road projects over 20 years. Taxes were collected from 2018-2022, but ongoing litigation prevented monies from going to PRTA, and the tax was eventually ruled invalid by the Arizona Supreme Court.
Approximately $90M in tax receipts need to be refunded. Entities that paid the sales taxes can request refunds from the Arizona Department of Revenue. They have the option to donate refunded monies to a Central Arizona Governments fund earmarked for Pinal County transportation and capital improvement projects if they choose. (Source)