Yavapai County Board of Supervisors created a budget ceiling 5 percent lower for its general fund in the upcoming fiscal year.
At its July 6 meeting, the board unanimously adopted a tentative budget for fiscal year 2009-10 setting the county’s general fund cap around $77.8 million and the county’s entire budget at $251 million, which includes special districts such as the jail.
In August, the board will adopt a final budget which cannot exceed the caps set by the board July 6.
County Administrator Julie Ayers said fund revenue comes from three sources — property tax, state shared sales tax and Yavapai County’s 1/2-cent sales tax.
Property tax is the largest revenue generator for the city and will bring in $42 million for FY 2009-10, Ayers said. Last year property tax generated $40 million.
While more money will be collected through property taxes, Ayers said the tax rate actually went down. According to state legislation, the county cannot collect over $42 million.
To come in under the limitation, the county had to lower its 1.36 percent tax rate to 1.28 percent because the assessed value of homes went up. Home values used by the county have a two-year lag to changes in the real estate market.
District 2 Supervisor Tom Thurman said next year will be different as the dip in the market catches up with the county’s assessed values.
The general fund’s second biggest revenue source is state shared sales tax, which accounts for 22 percent of the fund’s income in FY 2009-10.
Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a majority of the Legislature’s proposed state budget, Ayers said, including items that would have impacted tax sharing with the county. Continued budget discussions at the state level mean the county still doesn’t know what sort of impact the state’s deficit will have on its finances.
The county’s 1/2-cent sales tax brings in the remaining funds for the general fund, which accounts for a larger sum of money due to the board allocating more of the tax for the general fund instead of road and project funds, according to Ayers.
County staff will continue to monitor the county and state’s budget situations on an ongoing basis, as it did last fiscal year, so adjustments can be made as needed.
During fiscal year 2008-09 the county instated first a hiring chill and then a hiring freeze to save money and later called for departments to cut their budgets for FY 2009-10.
The board also closed the Yavapai County Jail in Prescott on April 1 saving the jail district $1.5 million in FY 2009-08, which in turn saves the general fund money.
The county’s jail district cannot support itself and borrows money from the county’s general fund to balance its budget.
Trista Steers can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 124, or e-mail tsteers@larsonnewspapers.com
