This November, Coconino County voters will decide whether to approve Proposition 482. Proposition 482 proposes permanent base adjustments to county spending limits without adding new taxes or increasing property taxes or other existing taxes. If passed, Prop. 482 would allow counties to spend revenue that has already been approved by voters but cannot be spent due to spending limits. The county is seeking permanent baseline adjustments to spending limits to maintain the level of services currently provided.

The county has one of the lowest base property tax rates in Arizona, while providing essential services to its residents, including law enforcement, road maintenance, road improvement projects, disaster response, elections, health care, and many other services that affect residents every day. We provide essential services. Adjusting the spending threshold will not cause Coconino County to spend more revenue than it receives, nor will it add new taxes or increase property or other taxes. This would allow counties to spend revenue that voters had already authorized the state and counties to collect, such as the Road Maintenance Sales Tax (RMST), which was approved by about 65% of county voters in 2014.

Since 2014, the county has invested $92 million in RMST into road maintenance and improvement projects, increasing the percentage of county-maintained roads in poor or very poor condition from 36% in 2014 to 3% in 2023. rose to . With these funds, the county’s Department of Public Works maintains 494 miles of county-owned roads on the Navajo Nation, 202 miles of Forest Service roads, and 496 miles of school bus routes.

Due to current spending restrictions, the county cannot currently use these funds. To keep the project on schedule, the county needed to take out loans in 2023 and 2024. Unfortunately, loans incur interest and fees, which are costly to taxpayers, but also create tolerance exclusions to spending limits. For example, approximately $45 million is raised in RMST revenue over three years for road maintenance and improvement projects. Since a loan is required to spend funds over the spending limit, up to $7,425,000 can be paid in fees and interest, with the remaining $37,575,000 available for investment in road projects. With the proposed spending base increase, that $7,425,000 would complete 1,223 lane miles of crack filling, 85 lane miles of chip sealing, 36 lane miles of mill and fill road improvements, and 17 lane miles of road reconstruction. It may be possible to use it for

This spending standard was established by Arizona voters in 1980 and reflects the amount spent by Coconino County in fiscal year 1980 (July 1, 1979 to June 30, 1980) of $10,268,127. . Each year, multiply that number by the population growth rate and the country’s inflation rate to arrive at your annual spending limit. This process occurs in every county, city, town, community college district, and school district in Arizona.

What this equation doesn’t reflect is that over the past 10 years, state levy sales taxes shared with counties have increased by an average of 6.7% annually, while spending limits have increased by an average of only 2.7% annually. That’s it. Additionally, overall costs in Northern Arizona often rise above the national inflation rate.

If Proposition 482 does not pass, the spending base will remain the same and Coconino County will continue to balance its revenues and expenses as required by state law. However, you are right that it is a difficult balance to strike and that meeting service delivery needs will be a significant challenge, particularly in relation to road maintenance and road improvement projects.

Coconino County isn’t alone. Four Arizona counties and 84 cities and towns made permanent adjustments to their spending bases, including Navajo County, Apache County, and the City of Flagstaff. FBN

For more information, please visit: coconino.az.gov/Prop482 If you have any questions, please email prop482@coconino.az.gov.

Andy Bertelsen

Andy Bertelsen is Coconino County Manager.