YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The Yuma County Board of Supervisors has officially approved the final budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The budget is about $571 million, $4 million less than last year.

“We care about Yuma County and we work hard to make it better every day,” Yuma County Executive Ian McGaughey said.

Yuma County Supervisor Tony Reyes explains how the new budget will impact local residents.

“It's important for people to understand that once they're out of the jurisdiction of Yuma, San Luis, Summerton and Welton, they're in the county and the county handles a lot of things that the cities don't handle,” Reyes said.

The new budget is about 2 to 3 percent less than last year, but will help bring in funds for a variety of projects across the county.

“There are so many exciting and important items in this budget – new building projects, road projects, bridges, public safety, emergency management – so many things that will impact people's lives in ways that people don't fully know about,” McGaughey said.

After a recent audit, the county recognized the need to focus on new threats.

“Cybersecurity is an emerging threat not only across the nation but here in Yuma County, so we have to be very vigilant about it and make sure we prevent threats to our systems,” McGaughey said.

This budget is for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1st.