In the latest episode of Inside Pima County with Supervisor Rex Scott, Supervisor Scott is joined by someone whose work touches nearly every aspect of how our county operates: the Director of our Office of Finance and Risk Management, Art Cuaron. Art begins by sharing a bit about his deep roots in our community. A Tucson native born and raised on the upper west side, he built his academic foundation at the University of Arizona, graduating in 2004 before earning his MBA from the University of Phoenix. His career in public finance now spans almost two decades, beginning in 2007 with the Town of Oro Valley, where he served as a Financial Analyst for five years. He then moved to the City of Tucson in 2012, taking on a series of increasingly complex leadership roles—managing debt, banking and investments, and eventually overseeing the city’s internally managed pension system along with its benefits programs. Art explains that public service runs in his family. His father served as Finance Director for the Town of Marana, and his mother worked both for Pima County and the City of South Tucson. Growing up around those conversations and examples of civic leadership, Art knew early on that he wanted to become a finance director. When the opportunity to serve Pima County opened in late 2024, the timing aligned perfectly with both his professional goals and personal readiness. He was hired that December, and for the past 18 months he has led the department through a period of significant work, growth, and responsibility. What drives him, he says, is the daily challenge of balancing community needs with the long‑term fiscal health of the organization, work that is never repetitive, always important, and deeply meaningful. Today he oversees a $1.8 billion county budget and a department made up of 11 divisions that carry out essential functions ranging from budget development and financial reporting to grants management, payroll, accounts payable, internal audit, and risk management. Art describes how his team anchors its work in transparency, accountability, collaboration, communication, and service excellence. Whether supporting the budget process, managing revenues, ensuring accurate and timely financial information, or responding to public claims through Risk Management, the department works every day to protect taxpayer dollars and support the effective operation of every county department. He also shares insights into the County’s annual budget process—an effort that begins each fall, involves extensive collaboration with the County Administrator, department directors, and elected officials, and culminates in the Board’s tentative and final budget adoptions each spring and summer. This year included a new board retreat that Art describes as both successful and valuable in aligning priorities early in the process. Art outlines the difference between DREAM requests and supplemental requests, the role of state cost shifts, and the annual challenge of budgeting before the State finalizes its own spending plan. He also provides clarity on the functions of the Risk Management division and highlights several other key divisions within his department, including Financial Control and Reporting, Financial Grants, Departmental Analysis, Internal Audit, Financial Operations, Revenue Management, and Treasury and Capital Projects. Looking ahead, he previews two major initiatives: implementation of the Workday Grants module to strengthen financial reporting and compliance, and a countywide education campaign around the proposed expenditure limitation adjustment—an issue that has not been revisited in 45 years but will be essential to sustaining county operations moving forward.
