County officials unite against senate budget

WHITE MOUNTAINS – Elected officials from each of Arizona’s fifteen counties joined together this week in vehement opposition to the state budget passed by Senate lawmakers Wednesday evening, calling it, “an irresponsible attack on county government.”

In a series of letters, email and phone calls to state lawmakers, county officials, including sheriffs, supervisors, county attorneys, assessors, treasurers, recorders and school superintendents, decried several provisions of the budget that would shift state costs and responsibility to counties. These include making counties pay the incarceration costs for state prisoners sentenced to less than a year, and diverting county road-building and maintenance money to fund the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the state Motor Vehicle Division (MVD). The proposed budget also forces Maricopa and Pima Counties to contribute over $30 million to the state General Fund to pay for state operations.

The budget’s complete impact on county governments has not been determined, but it is estimated to be at least $100 million.

Navajo County Supervisor David Tenney spoke against the Senate’s version of the budget in the Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, informing them that if adopted, this budget would put counties “squarely on the bubble.”

Tenney is also president of the state county supervisor’s association, and speaks for them as well.

“There is nothing conservative about putting the state ‘in the black’ by ‘shifting the red’ to counties,” Tenney said. “A shift of state costs to counties does not cut spending; it only shifts those costs to county taxpayers. In fact, some counties may have to increase property taxes to pay for these shifts.”

The magnitude of county impacts in the Senate budget has also prompted Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to express his opposition. In a letter to lawmakers, Arpaio, County Attorney Bill Montgomery, and Board Chairman Andy Kunasek, explained that “Maricopa County cannot possibly survive this reckless financial proposal.”

Navajo County Sheriff K. C. Clark was in Phoenix this past week sharing his opposition to the budget with state legislators.

“Navajo County has seen its revenue decline by 33 percent since 2008, yet the state keeps shifting its responsibilities to us. Our residents have asked us to do a better job with less money and we have absolutely done that. State lawmakers should pass a balanced budget, but not on the backs of the counties and our local taxpayers.”

County Attorney Brad Carlyon was also in Phoenix last week to meet with legislators regarding the budget. “What we continue to see is that counties are going to be punished for operating responsibly. At this point, we need the members of the House of Representatives to analyze this budget proposal and recognize the demands that it will place on county taxpayers if it is allowed to move forward unchecked.”