By Chase Kamp | Southeast Valley Ledger
As FY 2013-14 county budget negotiations grow closer, Board Chairman Steve Miller and District 1 Supervisor Pete Rios have pledged to not raise property taxes and stifle additional spending in light of a $6.3 million loss in revenue from last year.
However, they say costs expected to pile up in the courts and law enforcement stemming from the county attorney’s office restructuring will pose a challenge to zeroing out the bottom line.
In a written statement, Miller outlined two hard objectives for the budget talks: no increase in the property tax rate and a freezing of department spending.
“Pinal County already has the highest primary property tax rate and the second highest tax burden of Arizona’s 15 counties,” he argued. “Our ultimate goal is to bring the tax levy to a reasonable level.”
In a response statement, Rios doubled down on these pledges. “No one should be surprised to find I am in complete agreement with Chairman Miller’s vision for the budget,” he wrote.
However, declining valuations from 2010 and 2011are still hurting tax income. The county will collect 7.7 percent less on property tax, a difference of $6.3 million.
“With the exception of slight upticks in state sales tax revenues,” Miller wrote, “the signs of recovery that we are beginning to see won’t be reflected in county property tax revenues for another 12 to 18 months.”
