Board of Supervisors approves FY 2009-10 budget

How do you properly set a budget in an environment of continued economic turmoil when the state, a key contributor to your budget is threatening to send you a sizeable IOU? The answer, as the Pinal County Supervisors stated Wednesday, is that you must do it very carefully and be prepared to reassess in the future.

The Board of Supervisors approved a total county budget of $400.2 million, which includes a $0.20 reduction in the primary property tax. This tax reduction represents a decrease of about $20 on a $100,000 home.

Last fiscal year’s budget was capped at $458 million, but the county curtailed spending significantly through a hiring freeze, mid-year budget cuts, a freeze on travel and training and other budget-balancing measures. Just two years ago, the county’s budget was capped at $475 million.

“Clearly, the building slowdown and current economy are reflected in the changes we have implemented over the past year,” Chairman David Snider said. “This budget reflects an appropriately lean posture for fiscal 2009-10. What I want residents to know, though, is that we’re fully focused on delivering quality service.”

In a message to employees, County Manager Terry Doolittle stated that good news sometimes comes with a caution attached. President Obama’s stimulus plan includes money (FMAP funds) to assist in providing medical care to those who lack insurance or are in the AHCCCS program. The county recently learned that those funds will be distributed between the state and Arizona counties to offset what they would normally pay the state to provide care to AHCCCS clients. This was a one-time, unexpected windfall.

The tentative budget, which was adopted in May, included the potential for an across-the-board reduction in salary for county staff. As a result of the stimulus windfall, a five million dollar gap in the budget will be covered by the stimulus money and drawing down the funds on reserve. The Board of Supervisors and county manager believe that the combination of the stimulus funding and drawing from the reserve will not put the county’s financial future at tremendous risk – at this point in time.

In his statement to employees, the county manager highlighted potential threats to the county’s financial future. They include:

§ Money coming in could continue to decline.
§ The FY 2009-10 budget includes several one-time revenue items, such as the stimulus money.
§ The economic decline could last longer than economists are currently projecting.
§ The Legislature has proposed to balance the state budget by hitting cities, towns and counties with IOUs. If the amount Pinal County has to pay exceeds what was budgeted for, the county could be forced to make additional changes.

All three Supervisors thanked elected officials, members of the public and the Budget and Research staff for the long hours invested in crafting a balanced budget.

“Unfortunately, getting to this point has required several departments to lay off valuable members of their staff,” Supervisor Bryan Martyn said. “We are asking people to do the work of many with fewer resources. I remain optimistic about the future and know our employees are dedicated public servants who are committed to good customer service.”

Supervisor Pete Rios expressed confidence that the boom times would soon return.

“Pinal County is uniquely positioned to benefit from a recovering economy,” he said. “We have open space, land, neighborhoods that are approved and ready to build. We have businesses that are simply waiting for the right economic indicators before they fill our retail, industrial and commercial spaces. It will happen, and when it does, we will be ready for it.”

The Board of Supervisors requested monthly updates on the state of the economy and how that affects Pinal County’s budget and priorities. The monthly updates will be placed on the Board of Supervisors’ agendas during their semi-monthly meetings. Meeting minutes and agendas are posted on the Pinal County website under Board Meetings/Agendas in the left column.

File photo