The Gila County Board of Supervisors approved a record-setting $217.1 million tentative budget on June 16, a spending plan driven largely by ongoing flood recovery efforts. Supervisors also reviewed progress on several major recovery projects and heard about options to fund employee pay raises without increasing property taxes, which they expressed support for.
The supervisors adopted a tentative budget for fiscal year 2026-27 totaling $217.1 million, the largest budget in county history.
Maryn Belling, the county’s finance director, pointed out that the record-setting figure is largely the result of flood recovery funding and accounting requirements, rather than a dramatic increase in day-to-day county spending.
The unusually large budget number reflects the way flood recovery projects must be accounted for, including anticipated grant revenues, bond proceeds, reimbursements and project expenditures. The county must budget for all potential revenues and expenses associated with the projects, even though much of the funding will ultimately flow through as reimbursements.
The county’s top budget priorities for the coming fiscal year include maintaining a balanced budget, avoiding tax rate increases and continuing flood recovery efforts.
Additional priorities include infrastructure and equipment maintenance, employee retention and morale, and transparent stewardship of public funds.
The budget’s flood recovery funding includes ongoing projects as well as the county’s recently approved bond authorization. The budget capacity also reflects $5 million in state funding recently approved by Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Belling pointed to the county’s capital projects fund as an example of how flood recovery efforts have affected the budget. Planned capital project expenditures increased from roughly $13.5 million in the current year to around $74.5 million in the proposed budget, leading to $61 million of the overall increase.
The county’s primary property tax rate will remain unchanged at $4.19. According to Belling, the rate has not been increased in 15 years.
Although the tax rate will stay the same, projected property tax revenues are expected to increase by roughly $760,000 due to growth in assessed property values and new construction.
The proposed primary property tax levy for fiscal year 2027 is just under $29 million, up from about $28.2 million this year.
The public hearing for adoption of the final 2026-27 fiscal year budget will be held on July 21.
Gila County's major flood recovery projects continue to advance, according to an update from Matt Rencher, the county’s deputy public works director.
Construction has begun on both the Ice House Canyon and Copper Hills Road projects after receiving approval from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. As of the meeting, Ice House Canyon was approximately 20% complete and Copper Hills Road was about 10% complete.
The Russell Gulch project is now approximately 60% complete and Six Shooter Canyon is roughly 35% complete.
Debris cleanup work has also been completed, including the household debris removal program and the Hospital Drive culvert cleanup.
The wall project near Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center remains under review by the NRCS, but it is expected to move forward in the coming week.
The supervisors expressed support for providing county employees with a pay increase after staff identified budget savings that could be used to fund raises without increasing property taxes.
During a work session on the county's 2027 salary plan, Belling presented two options: a 2.8% across-the-board raise, matching the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or a 3.5% increase designed to make up for the lack of a midyear raise during the current fiscal year.
Belling said county staff found savings by eliminating long-vacant or unused budgeted positions and reducing excess funding in the county's tuition assistance program. Those changes freed up approximately $821,000 in general fund capacity, enough to fund the larger raise option.
Belling emphasized that the savings came from budgeted funds that had gone unused for several years and that the proposal does not rely on additional property tax revenue.
Supervisor Tim Humphrey also discussed concerns about employee retention and morale, noting that county operations — including the landfills, mechanic shops, and road crews — saw 42 employee departures over the past year. Compensation may be one factor contributing to turnover, he said.
The supervisors generally expressed support for the 3.5% raise option and also discussed the possibility of a one-time employee payment later in the year.
Under that concept, lower-paid employees could receive a flat payment while higher-paid employees would receive a percentage-based amount. Those payments would be funded from tax revenues.
As of June 17, Humphrey is serving as board chairman while Supervisor Steve Christensen has moved to the vice chairman’s seat for the supervisors’ 16-month term.
The change follows a rotation plan established by the board several years ago to allow each supervisor an opportunity to serve as chair. The chairman's role primarily involves presiding over meetings, signing official documents and working with staff on agenda preparation.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here