Proposition 414: Tax $=OUR $!

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This investigation began when this email was forwarded to the Tucson Crime Free Coalition by an unknown person.  

If you are not familiar with TCFC and what they do for Tucson, please read an excerpt from their website (below).  I would also recommend you take a look at their website and see for yourself the great things they are trying to do to save our once-great city.

"The Tucson Crime Free Coalition, is not-for-profit community based coalition whose mission is a safer community for all through the enforcement of our laws. We are advocates for adequate staffing and resources for law enforcement, treatment for those in need and prosecution for criminals that are unwilling to abide by our laws."

TCFC is one of the biggest supporters of the Tucson Police Department but this email did not sit well with them!  If I were going to guess, I would say the sticking points of the email was the fact that Tucson Police Department personnel were going to be paid overtime to use a specialty vehicle to attract attention and then, among other things, "talking about Prop 414."

Let me be clear, the posting of these photos was NOT to shame anyone for supporting their personal likes and dislikes.  You'll notice there's a lot of people in these photos.  I see chief-level commanders, supervisors and commanders that would someday like to be chief-level commanders, and some other people that I don't know.  I will tell you there are a some truly great people in these photos.  There are also some people with whom I have ...creative differences.  

The point that I am making here is these people are supporting a political cause on their own time.  They are not using their status as Tucson Police Department or Tucson Fire Department personnel to push their opinion, they are not using equipment or vehicles that belong to the City of Tucson, and they are not being paid, regular pay rate or overtime, for their support of Proposition 414.  

Since this is America, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG with what is going on in these photos.  

In my quest to find out how much of YOUR tax money was spent on this illegal deployment, I reached out to the Tucson's City Clerk's Office.  On November 19, 2025, I submitted a public record request for the overtime rates of the Tucson PD personnel involved with this deployment.  There were several emails going back and forth.  The city finally sent me this answer that I found to be unacceptable.  Read for yourself...

"Regarding your request for overtime rates for certain coworkers, we cannot provide this since rates vary due to FLSA payments.  They vary each pay period depending on hours worked.   Therefore, we cannot provide a consistent rate for each person that will apply each pay period."

I decided to simplify my question and ask...

"I thank you for getting back to me on this.  I understand that the overtime rates may change due to a variety of reasons.  To simplify my request, can you tell me the base pay rate for the following Tucson PD personnel on the date of February 15, 2025?"

Using my superior math skills (sarcasm intended), I multiplied each pay rate by 1.5 (the city's overtime rate).  I then multiplied that number by the number of hours that were worked at this deployment by each employee.  

The total tax dollar amount for this illegal deployment was $3,064.14!  This does not include the fuel costs for the multiple vehicles that were used in this deployment.

*I am very aware that this number may be affected by FLSA payments, hours worked, and other reasons, but this number is pretty darn close and it is more than you'll get from the City Clerk's Office- I know, I tried!* 

-James Voss