Tucson Weekly: Too Hot To Handle (July 24

By Dave Devine
DESPITE A SERIES of court rulings that determined it was illegally formed, the embattled Palo Verde Fire District keeps collecting and spending taxpayer money. Like some spicy meatball that leaves a pungent aftertaste, the little district is still producing controversy long after the court system supposedly chewed it up and spit it out.
Formed in 1994, ostensibly to provide service to several square miles along the City of Tucson's southern border, the district was also created in a very last-minute attempt to block the city from annexing part of the area (See "Tucson's Holy War," Tucson Weekly, June 26).
Many of the petition signatures required as part of the process to form the district were questionable on technical grounds. Despite that, the Pima County Board of Supervisors, led by the strong support of former Supervisor Ed Moore, created the district.
Currents After a lower court ruled the signatures were valid, the Arizona Court of Appeals unanimously reversed that decision in February 1996. It said, "The Board (of Supervisors) clearly abused its discretion in ignoring uncontroverted evidence the signatures were insufficient to fulfill the statutory requirement." The Arizona Supreme Court upheld the decision.
That could have been the end of the story, with the district disbanding and the city proceeding with its annexation. But nothing changed.
Two subsequent court decisions reiterated the Court of Appeals' ruling. In one of them, Superior Court Judge William Tinney found "the issue relating to the validity of the Palo Verde Fire District has been concluded by the Court of Appeals...and that opinion is the law of this case." In another, Superior Court Judge Bernardo Velasco succinctly noted the district "is not a body politic."
Despite those rulings, however, Pima County continues to collect taxes from district's real and personal property owners. Fire-fighting and other services are being provided for the area at a cost of more than $170,000 a year.
It's those other services that some in City Hall complain about. They charge the district is using its budget to fund both an anti-annexation campaign as well as the drive to incorporate numerous communities around Tucson. They cite the role of Ted Poelstra, the fire district's administrator, in these efforts.
The district's budget shows it paying salaries of $9,600 a year. It also indicates the district spends almost $25,000 on legal fees. Not a lot of money to fight the big City of Tucson, but enough, apparently, to create serious problems.
To stop the flow of money to the district, Tucson City Attorney Tom Berning wrote Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods last November. He asked that Woods' office take legal action to kill the district.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeals decision about the illegality of district's formation is ignored. While Poelstra said he couldn't comment, the district's attorney, Tom Parsons, said in his opinion no final judgment on the district's status has been made. He said the district continues to provide fire service, and, at least administratively, if not legally, the district is recognized as a political entity.
Parsons' view of the district isn't shared by other lawyers involved in the case. Charles Pierson, of the Attorney General's Office, says, "The question of the legal entity of the district is over with." Frank Cassidy, who represented Pima County in unsuccessfully attempting to defend the Board of Supervisors' action, added, "The Court of Appeals ruled against the county on the formation of the district."
Cassidy said the issue is just a difference about who collects taxes in the area, the city or the fire district, and who provides fire-fighting services. So he indicated he wouldn't get too excited about the district's continued existence, even after the Court of Appeals ruling. But, he added, some city staff members do whine about it once in awhile.
Fire district attorney Parsons believes a scheduled August court hearing on the city's annexation effort in the area may bring the legal status of the district back into question. He thinks the issue could be revisited through a legal technicality. Plus, he adds, the outcome of the August case is certain to be appealed by whichever side loses. So the district may continue to exist.
While the Court of Appeals decision is ignored, the district fights the city's annexation attempt, and area property owners are considering the idea of becoming a city themselves. Poelstra also talks with many other neighborhood representatives in Pima County about the possibility of their areas becoming new cities. At the same time, Pima County keeps collecting property taxes for his fire district.
But as the tax money keeps flowing in, the Pima County Attorney's Office has requested a legal hearing next Monday. Their intent is to seek a court order to stop the tax collection. The City of Tucson is expected to join them in this action.
And the animosity created by the city's attempt to annex the Palo Verde area continues to spread. It's gotten to the point where Tucson Mayor George Miller has asked South Tucson officials, among others, to help fight the new incorporation effort. That's ironic, because in the 1930s, the City of Tucson did everything it could, including threatening to turn off the water supply, to prevent South Tucson from incorporating.
The days of the Palo Verde Fire District appear to be numbered. Eventually, Pima County will probably be ordered to stop collecting taxes, and the district will be out of business. But the legacy it leaves behind on annexations and incorporations will have significantly changed Tucson for decades to come.

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