Supervisors approve FY24 budget; includes money for roads, housing, and crime reduction

PIMA COUNTY, (June 23, 2023) – The Pima County Board of Supervisors in a series of votes today approved the various taxes and funds that comprise the overall county budget for fiscal year 2024. The fiscal year begins July 1.

The $1.76 billion budget is $172 million less than the current fiscal year and sets the combined County property tax rate at $5.1048, which is 3.96 cents more than the current year.

“This is a fair budget that holds the line on taxes while still funding programs to assist Pima County’s most vulnerable communities,” said Board Chair Adelita Grijalva. “I am glad to say that our budget is funding more affordable housing and protecting fragile desert ecosystems through open space acquisition. The board had to make a lot of tough choices in this budget, and I think it’s a good foundation for meeting the needs of everyone in our County.”

At the meeting, the Board:

• Voted 3-2 to approve the overall County budget and set the primary property tax rate at $4.0102 per $100 of assessed value
• Voted 3-2 to adopt the Library District budget and set the district property tax rate at 54.93 cents per $100 of assessed value
• Voted 5-0 to adopt the Regional Flood Control District budget and set the district tax rate at 32.53 cents per $100 of assessed value
• Voted 5-0 to approve the tax rate to pay back County debt at 22 cents per $100 of assessed value

The Board also adopted the budgets for several special taxing districts for local infrastructure commonly referred to as facilities or improvement districts. And it approved the budget for the Kino Stadium District, which operates Kino Sports and Entertainment Complex. The complex is funded through facility rental fees, bed taxes, and the County’s general fund.

County Administrator Jan Lesher worked with the Board and the County’s Budget staff to craft a budget that addressed four focus areas:

• Critical Infrastructure
  • Allocates $232 million in capital improvements, including $43 million in road repair and construction
  • Provides nearly $9 million for affordable housing
  • Designates $2 million to preserve fragile desert and mountain lands through open space acquisition
• Justice and Law Enforcement
  • Includes continued funding for Sheriff’s Department salary increases
  • Funds crime reduction and prevention programs
• Financial Stability
  • Maintains the County’s General Fund reserve, ensuring financial stability that is routinely recognized by credit rating agencies, which rank the County as a low-risk, AAA organization for bonding and lending purposes
  • Is a conservative budget that accounts for potential economic headwinds during the fiscal year
• Pima County as an Employer of Choice
  • Allocates $14 million to implement a market-based-pay system to keep the County competitive with pay rates in the private and public sectors
  • Provides $5 million to improve employment recruiting to attract top talent to the County

“It was difficult trying to fund budget priorities and keep the tax rate increase below 1 percent given the effect inflation is having on the County,” Lesher said. “Yet despite that and continued state cost shifts in excess of $100 million, we’re still going to be able to fix roads, help keep people in their homes or find affordable housing, and work with community partners to reduce rates of homelessness and drug addiction.”

Lesher said the four focus areas ensured the County could meet critical needs while defending against any financial calamities that may occur in the next year. She said the focus on funding for competitive employee salaries and increased recruiting is necessary to fill critical staff shortages across the County, especially in the Sheriff’s Department. In her latest vacancy report to the Board earlier this month, Lesher noted that there are currently more than 1,000 vacant positions in the County out of more than 7,000 funded positions.

Rate Breakdown

There are two components to County property taxes – a property’s assessed value and the tax rate. Using formulas set by state law, rates for the different County property taxes are multiplied by the assessed value to determine the tax bill.

 FY2024 Adopted Property Tax Rates (rates per $100 of net assessed value)

FY2023              FY2024                      Change

Primary                                               $3.8764           $4.0102                      +$0.1338

Library District                                  $0.5453           $0.5493                       +$0.0040

Regional Flood Control District     $0.3235           $0.3253                       +$0.0018

Debt service                                        $0.32               $0.2200                       -$0.1000

Combined County Rate                       $5.0652           $5.1048                       +$0.0396

Combined Rate Percent Change: +0.78%

Average tax increase of $62

Using the above rates, this table compares the taxes paid by the average valued Pima County home in Fiscal Year 2023 to Fiscal Year 2024.

Go to www.pima.gov/budget to view the adopted budget and all the supporting documents used to build it, as well as all memoranda from the County Administrator to the Board.