At its Tuesday meeting, the Pima County Board of Supervisors did not vote to dismiss the board of the county’s Industrial Development Authority. But the supervisors could do so in the coming weeks.
According to Supervisor Matt Heinz, the authority’s current board did not keep adequate financial records, potentially flouting compliance requirements.
The Pima Industrial Development Authority issues bonds on behalf of nonprofits who are raising money for programs like low-interest mortgages, down payment assistance, and small business loans. Because it’s an arm of county government, the agency can make those bonds tax-exempt, a more appealing option to potential buyers.
Heinz said the IDA’s lack of oversight could see the county miss out on $45 million in low-interest mortgages if changes aren’t made by June 30.
“We have an obligation to the residents of the county to make sure that the Pima IDA has proper board oversight. That didn’t happen. It appears to be the former legal counsel who dropped the ball but regardless we have to take immediate corrective action to put things back on track. I believe that a new board is the cleanest way to achieve this goal,” he wrote in a text message to AZPM.
Heinz said bookkeeping had been inadequate for up to four years. The authority has issued several rounds of low-interest mortgage bonds in that time period.
County Administrator Jan Lesher told supervisors she will meet with current board members individually and update supervisors after those meetings, giving them a choice about how to proceed.
“There are decisions related to the availability of approximately $45 million in mortgage assistance that have to be resolved, and decisions have to be made before the end of (June),” Lesher said.
The authority’s current board includes members from the real estate, finance and insurance industries. A memo included in the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting lists possible replacements for those board members. The potential replacements are more experienced in higher education, nonprofits and law.
