By Scott Orr
The Daily Courier
After discussing various topics that would affect the county government in the coming year at an all-day retreat, the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors late Wednesday afternoon got to the subject that Chairman Chip Davis most wanted to discuss: the budget.
It’s a topic that concerns the board, because some of the factors that control how much money the county will have are dependent on things beyond the board’s influence.
For example, when a 1-cent state sales tax that generates nearly a billion dollars a year expires at the end of 2013, “it’s going to be a dramatic hit to the state, and you can bet that that is going to result in a dramatic hit to us,” Davis said.
“When that sales tax goes away, the state’s going to have to make it up somewhere,” he said.
Revenue projections overall are a few percentage points higher than last year, said County Administrator Phil Bourdon, and expenses are down a bit, as the fact that it isn’t an election year will save the county nearly $400,000 and removing most capital improvements from the 2013 budget saved $1.8 million.
Also unknown, Bourdon said, is the full effect that President Obama’s healthcare reform law, the Affordable Care Act, will have on the budget.
Supervisor Tom Thurman said he’s “cautiously optimistic” about future revenues, because he believes home sales are up, which could lead to sales tax increases as people buy more consumer goods.
“The other day, one of the subdivisions in Prescott Valley (reported) selling 31 homes in the month of January, so that gives me a glimmer of hope,” he said.
