COCONINO COUNTY — The Coconino County Board of Supervisors adopted the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget during a Special Session on Tuesday, June 28.
The Coconino County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a $408.8 million budget for FY 2023 during a Special Session on Tuesday, June 28. The FY 2023 budget includes strategic investments for public health and safety, mental health services, flood control, forest restoration, prosecutorial diversion, staffing resources, and leveraging significant federal funds to meet strategic and programmatic goals across Coconino County operations.
The budget, effective July 1, sustains the County’s conservative approach of 10-year budget planning and focuses on restoring the budget to pre-pandemic service levels, continuing COVID-19 response efforts, creating capacity to respond to emergencies like fires and floods, and further leveraging federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It continues Coconino County’s low primary property tax rate, one of the lowest in the state, and considers the budgetary impact of new revenues, its impact to the taxpayer, and maintaining service levels to the community as expected by the taxpayers we serve.
“We have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and recent emergencies about the resiliency of our community,” said Board Chair Patrice Horstman. “The FY 2023 budget adopted by the Board of Supervisors makes strategic investments for our community while maintaining and promoting efficiency for the taxpayer. This budget plans for the future by including placeholders for retirement debt payments and planned federal dollars for programs and initiatives that are vital to our community. With this approach, the Board of Supervisors has taken strategic action to meet critical priorities, including public health and safety, mental health, forest restoration, flood control, local infrastructure, and economic development. Our Board of Supervisors is committed to careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars while serving and dynamically responding to our communities’ needs.”
The FY 2023 adopted budget strategically and efficiently prepares for the future by including placeholder amounts of $53 million for paying down pension debt to the Arizona State Retirement System and $67 million for expected federal dollars that Coconino County plans to expend on important community priorities, including forest restoration and criminal justice system enhancements.
The Board of Supervisors’ adopted budget prioritizes securing federal resources to address the number one public safety risk to Coconino County: wildfire and post-wildfire flooding. The budget contains important local funding to leverage one-time federal forest restoration dollars that will help address the risk of catastrophic wildfire and post-wildfire flooding.
The Board of Supervisors’ strategic vision also recognizes critical County services depend on high-caliber public servants. The Board’s adopted budget prioritizes competitive compensation to retain and recruit a skilled workforce while providing efficient and effective services, working to overcome challenges associated with the region’s high cost of living. The Board’s strategic action ensures the County is well-positioned for the future by creating a dedicated compensation fund to attract and retain its number one asset: our hard-working and dedicated public servants.
The FY 2023 budget also includes necessary contingency funding to address what is already a challenging fire and post-wildfire flooding season. The final tax rates will be set on August 9, 2022.