pigs get free guns!!!! well almost free!!! Original Article County will allow retiring deputies to purchase their firearms for $1 By Erica Meltzer ARIZONA DAILY STAR Pima County sheriff's deputies receive lower pay and fewer medical benefits than Tucson police officers, but they now have one benefit their city counterparts do not. The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to allow retiring officers with 20 years of service to buy their firearm for a dollar. Retiring sheriff's deputies previously had to pay the replacement cost to keep their firearms - $427 for a handgun, $359 for a shotgun. Tucson police officers cannot buy their firearms. The Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Phoenix Police Department also allow retiring officers to buy their firearms for a dollar. "TPD offers benefits that we can't afford to provide," said Brad Gagnepain, administrative services bureau chief for the Sheriff's Department. "Why not do something we can afford that would be a positive morale booster?" Gagnepain said the move was part of an ongoing effort to improve morale. Earlier this year, the county board approved pay increases for deputies that ranged from 6 to 27 percent. Marcia Hancock, chairwoman of the Pima County Deputy Sheriff's Association, said the increases brought deputies closer to city police salaries. But city police keep their health insurance upon retirement and they get all their pay if they are injured on the job. Deputies get only 66 percent of their pay if injured, she said. Though buying a firearm for a dollar was not an official demand, it had come up from time to time, Hancock said. "It's something they can do for us and we appreciate it," she said. In other business, the board: Voted unanimously to approve restrictions on off-road-vehicle facilities. Tracks will be allowed only on lots larger than 10 acres and only when owners meet certain conditions. Voted unanimously to raise the hotel tax from 2 percent to 6 percent. Contact reporter Erica Meltzer at 807-7790 or emeltzer@azstarnet.com.