After Prop. 414 fails to pass, Tucson leaders plan town halls to address budget questions

City leaders in Tucson say they’ll be hosting a series of town halls to get community input and answer questions about what’s next for the city’s budget after a ballot measure to add a sales tax to pay for housing and first responders failed to pass.

Proposition 414 would have generated some $80 million a year for 10 years using a half-cent sales tax. It failed by a roughly 70-30 margin.

Drew Fellows is a spokesperson with the Tucson chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which opposed the measure.

“Ultimately, Prop. 414 concerned itself more with funding the police when there was a whole movement in Tucson and across the country because ultimately the police don’t give us housing, the police don’t give us health care,” Fellows said.

Fellows said voters want to see more money put toward affordable housing and community care — like support for homelessness and addiction services. About a third of Prop. 414 funding was slated for first responders and agency equipment — including a police surveillance plane. Other funding would have gone to housing, down payment assistance and other services.

The city has said it doesn’t have the money for some housing and capital projects without the new tax.