The Mojave County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote next week on whether to approve the final draft of next year’s budget. Property taxes are also expected to increase this year, but it won’t be a big deal for most county residents.
County finance officials entered this budget session and reported a deficit of $4 million due to rising fuel prices and nationwide inflation over the past fiscal year. The county is balancing this year’s budget by delaying construction of a planned $5 million new morgue, but if the final budget is approved by the county board of trustees next week, county residents will We will see a slight increase in property taxes.
For some, taxes this year will increase by the amount of fast food orders.
For every $100,000 of property valued, residents will pay $307.25 in primary and secondary property taxes, an increase of $7.95 from last year’s property tax, according to county records.
The final draft of this year’s budget will see the biggest increase in major property taxes, rising to $175.47 per $100,000 of property value from last year’s $170.27.
The Mojave County Library District tax is 3.03%, or 75 cents higher than last year’s tax. The county’s flood control district tax will increase by 4.17%, or $2 per $100,000 of property value. Property taxes for the Mojave County Television Improvement District remained at $56.30 per $100,000 of property value for this year’s budget, no increase from last year.
Major property taxes are expected to generate about $42.6 million in levies in the county’s General Fund by next summer, about $2.26 million more than in fiscal 2022-23.
New initiatives listed but no general funds allocated for capital projects
This year’s budget calls for $3.3 million for new initiatives and $1.96 million for capital requests, paid out of the county’s proposed General Fund balance of $138 million.
These new initiatives include $1.5 million in salary increases for Mojave County sheriff’s deputies and detainees, $250,000 in expanded county general administration salary schedule coverage, and $527,000 in salary increases and salary adjustments for juvenile detainees. $, including $246,000 in Mojave County. Commercial Fund of the Ministry of Economic Development.
The capital project will include the purchase of a replacement for Rapid Vote Counters and ePollbooks for the Mojave County Elections Office at a cost of $558,588. The Mojave County Department of Public Works will receive $1.37 million to replace electric graders for county roadworks and $400,000 to improve water operations on Interstate 40.
County treasurers have said the $5 million construction of a new morgue will be put on hold, but other capital projects of about $31 million are also in this year’s budget. According to the final draft budget, all of its funding will come from sources other than the county’s General Fund.
These projects include $4 million to build the county’s new animal shelter, $4.7 million to the county jail re-entry program Reach Out, and $4.7 million to build a new power substation for the Mojave County Sheriff’s Office. , including $7.8 million in Mojave Phase 2; He spent $9.8 million to renovate Kingman’s county courthouse and build a new law center in Kingman’s county.
The Mojave County Board of Supervisors will review and likely approve a final draft of the county’s fiscal 2023-24 budget at its next board meeting in Kingman on Monday.
