City Of Tucson Opens Pre-Application Period For Housing Waitlist - The City of Tucson opened the first pre-application period yesterday, Jan. 3, for those seeking to be placed on a waitlist for public housing and City of Tucson and Pima County Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). The pre-application should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. All completed pre-applications will receive a confirmation number, and the applicant should save that number. One application may be submitted per household. Duplicate applications will be removed. The first pre-application period will be available until Tuesday, Jan. 24, and all applicants during this time will be placed into a lottery. After the first pre-application period, a lottery will be conducted every month for placement on the waitlist. Online applications are available in various languages. In addition, assistance will be provided in alternative formats, such as paper applications, large print, braille, or translation/interpreting services. For individuals and families who do not have access to a computer or smartphone, computers are available during the three weeks throughout the City of Tucson and in various sites in Pima County.
Apply online and learn more
Watch the pre-application walk-through with ASL interpretation (English)
Watch the pre-application walk-through (Spanish)

Water And Envirommental Services Rate Increase Public Information Session Tomorrow - Tucson Water and the Environmental and General Services Department (EGSD) will be answering questions at a virtual Rate Increase Information Session tomorrow, Jan. 5, from 4-5 p.m. This virtual session follows six in-person events that were held across the city in November. Follow the link below for more information and to learn how to watch the rate session. The City of Tucson recently gave a notice of intention to update rates for Tucson Water and EGSD customers beginning this July, progressing through June 2027. A public hearing will be held, and Tucson's Mayor and Council will vote on the proposed increase at its next meeting on Wednesday Jan. 11.
Read the news release

Arizona's Congressional Delegation Delivers $12m In Federal Investments To Tucson As Part Of $1.7t Congressional Omnibus Bill - Tucsonans will benefit from more than $12 million in funding from the $1.7 trillion Omnibus Bill approved by both the U.S. House and Senate late last month. The funding comes via Congressionally directed spending priorities and will layer federal dollars on top of investments the City of Tucson is already making. "This is great news and an important investment in our community that has not been seen in over a decade," said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero as she thanked Arizona's congressional delegation. "This funding will supplement the work that Mayor and Council is doing in neighborhoods left behind by the effects of redlining and historic disinvestment. It will help us continue finding permanent solutions to homelessness, revitalizing community gathering spaces, and helping to keep our residents safe." Funding will go to the Mission Manor Aquatic Complex, the El Pueblo Center Revitalization Project, Western Hills neighborhood revitalization, the Tucson Police and Public Safety Communications departments portable radio updates, Mary Ann Cleveland Way shared use path, and the Housing First Resource Center at Amphi.

Tucson Water Receives $25 Million To Improve Pfas Treatment At Plant - The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) announced late last month that it's awarding $25 million in funding to help Tucson Water improve per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) treatment at a Tucson Water treatment plant, addressing severe groundwater contamination related to a federal Superfund site. This investment provides the necessary additional treatment improvements to adapt the Tucson Airport Remediation Project (TARP) treatment approach to incorporate a proven unit process specifically targeted to PFAS removal and safely continue treating contaminated groundwater in the area. ADEQ and Tucson Water are working on an intergovernmental agreement to facilitate the use of the funding. To date, Tucson Water has spent more than $30 million to address PFAS locally, continuing to test all drinking water sources for the compounds across its 390-square-mile service area, turning off contaminated wells and drilling new ones in clean areas, and removing PFAS at TARP.
Read the news release

Treecycle Continues This Month - For the 25th year, residents can recycle their once-living Christmas trees through the City of Tucson’s TreeCycle program, which began the day after Christmas and continues through Monday, Jan. 16. TreeCycle collection sites are located throughout the Tucson area. You can see a list of TreeCycle sites by following the link below. Please remove all lights, ornaments, decorations, plastic tree bags, and tree stands before dropping off your tree at a TreeCycle site. Trees collected are chipped and these items can cause damage to people and the equipment. Please do not leave trees outside the collection time or area due to fire hazards. Artificial trees will not be accepted. The City of Tucson will not collect Christmas trees from curbs and alleys. Other green waste cannot be accepted at TreeCycle sites.
TreeCycle information and sites
Environmental and General Services Department