Maricopa residents now have a clearer view of what the City’s dedicated half-cent road tax has collected and where the first major payment went.
The City’s Building Better Roads tracker lists $56,004,157.94 in total revenue and a $50 million payment to the SR 347 widening project dated May 28, 2026. The resulting Commuting Corridors Fund balance is $6,004,157.94.
That $56 million figure is much larger than local shoppers have produced through the half-cent tax alone. It combines three sources:
$5,844,614.98 in local half-cent sales-tax revenue from October 2025 through July 2026.
$159,542.96 in interest revenue.
$50 million from a Pinal County payment and a City financing transaction tied to the SR 347 contribution.
The distinction matters. Saying the tax itself has generated $56 million would be inaccurate.
How the $50 million SR 347 payment was assembled
City records show two large pieces behind the contribution to the state highway project.
An agreement approved by the City Council in October 2025 set a $20 million Pinal County contribution toward the widening of the Pinal County portion of SR 347. The same staff report said Maricopa would fund the remaining $30 million through borrowing supported by the commuting-corridors sales tax.
In March 2026, the City Council approved the financing documents for pledged revenue obligations. The staff report says the transaction would produce $30 million for SR 347 roadway work and related capital improvements.
The City’s agreement with the Arizona Department of Transportation places Maricopa’s total local contribution at $50 million toward a project then estimated at $134.832 million. That agreement covers widening SR 347 between Interstate 10 and Maricopa’s northern city limit. Costs above the original estimate are assigned to the state except for City-requested scope changes.
Residents who use the corridor can pair this funding overview with OurMaricopa’s SR 347 commuter guide and live SR 347 traffic page.
What the local tax has generated so far
The tracker lists ten monthly sales-tax entries, beginning in October 2025. Collections range from about $496,400 in February to about $784,805 in October 2025.
Across the ten posted months, the local tax portion averages roughly $584,461 per month. That is a descriptive average of the posted figures, not a forecast. Retail activity varies by month, and future collections can rise or fall.
The City says the half-cent applies to categories such as restaurant meals, retail purchases, appliances, furniture, entertainment, some personal services and home-improvement materials. Its page says groceries for home consumption, gasoline, prescription medication, rent, housing payments and lodging are not included.
On a taxable $10 purchase, the City gives a simple example: the half-cent adds about five cents.
What the $6 million balance does and does not tell us
The posted balance is not described as general-purpose money. The City says these revenues are restricted to transportation improvements.
Its page identifies SR 347 as the first major use, then describes a broader strategy that could include SR 238 improvements, a future loop-road concept and other commuting corridors. The page does not assign the current $6 million balance to a specific next project.
That means residents can verify the amount on hand, but they cannot yet use this tracker to answer several follow-up questions:
Which local corridor will receive the next construction allocation?
How much annual debt service will be paid from the fund?
What portion will be reserved before another project starts?
When will August and later tax collections be posted?
How will actual collections compare with the original 20-year estimate?
Those are the next details to watch as the City updates the page and adopts future capital budgets.
One arithmetic note on the public tracker
The overall figures reconcile: local sales-tax revenue plus interest equals the posted $6,004,157.94 balance after the $50 million inflow and $50 million SR 347 expense.
One monthly line needs clarification. The March 2026 row lists $559,295.07 in sales-tax revenue and $6,739.86 in interest. Those two numbers total $566,034.93, while the row’s total column displays $556,034.93. The $10,000 difference does not carry into the page’s overall category totals, which add correctly.
OurMaricopa has not audited the City fund. This guide uses the official category totals and flags the apparent row-level typo so readers do not have to guess.
The useful takeaway
As of the latest posted month, Maricopa’s dedicated tax has generated about $5.84 million locally. Interest adds roughly $159,543. County money and City borrowing supplied another $50 million, which the City paid toward SR 347. The public tracker shows about $6 million remaining for the wider commuting-corridors program.
The next meaningful update will be a newer revenue month or a City action assigning money to another named road project.
Sources
City of Maricopa, “Building Better Roads,” revenue tracker, expense tracker and FAQ; updated through July 2026, accessed Oct. 8, 2026: Open source
City of Maricopa Legistar, “IGA with Pinal County — SR 347 contribution,” approved Oct. 7, 2025; accessed Oct. 8, 2026: Open source
City of Maricopa Legistar, “Pledged Revenue Obligations, Series 2026,” approved March 3, 2026; accessed Oct. 8, 2026: Open source
City of Maricopa Legistar, “IGA with State of Arizona,” approved May 6, 2025; accessed Oct. 8, 2026: Open source