Navajo County may be facing another hard hit in the coming year if last month’s revenues are a sign of things to come. Assistant County Manager Bryan Layton went before the Navajo County Board of Supervisors Aug. 23 to present comparative revenue figures. July figures showed a significant decrease from the past two years for the same month.
Half of the county’s revenues come from combined stated shared sales tax (31 percent) and county sales tax (18 percent), and the figures provided by Layton show that in July state shared sales tax was down $38,000 from the previous year and county sales tax revenues were down $48,000.
Last year the Arizona Department of Revenue projected that state shared sales tax for this fiscal year would be $11.4 million. According to Layton, Navajo County made the decision to conservatively budget $11.07 million, $328,160 less than the state’s projection.
“However, in the first month of fiscal year 2016, sales tax came in $86,000 less than expected. If the declining trend in sales tax were to continue for the next 11 months, Navajo County could face a shortfall of $1 million,” stated Layton.
Layton attributes the decrease primarily to the energy sector, which includes industries and businesses in Navajo County that supply, produce or distribute energy services and products, and he has concerns that this has the potential of becoming the new norm.
He explained that in order to manage this loss of revenue, the county would need to “identify structural changes to reduce expenditures.” He intends to present options by the next board meeting.
“As a rural county, the options provided by the state to increase revenues are extremely limited. The state’s process and formula for allocating sales tax is complex, and does not factor in the unique challenges of rural counties in contrast to more populated counties,” he said.
Layton said that ideally, he would like a three-month revenue total before forming definitive opinions on the remainder of the year.
District III Supervisor Jason Whiting voiced his concerns in response to the news, stating that industry and good paying jobs are vital at this time. “I don’t know how much longer we can take these cuts and still provide those things we must lawfully provide for our citizens,” he said.
The board also heard a presentation by Matt Eyer, regional manager of BOLDplanning, a company that will be working with Navajo County Emergency Management staff to create emergency response plans for the various departments of county operations. The cost for those services is $52,320, with half to be paid from an Emergency Management Preparedness Grant and the other half by the Navajo County Health District.
In other business, the board
* Approved the over the counter sale of three back tax land parcels for $2,806.52.
* Recommended approval of a special event liquor license for Scottsdale Charros, Inc., located at 422 Sponsellor Siding Road in Lakeside, for a charitable event scheduled Oct. 5-8.
* Recommended approval of an extension of premises/patio permit for The Wild Women Saloon and Grill in Overgaard on Sept. 3 for the Lions Club Casino Night.
* Authorized a change of policy so that employees who are terminated shall be paid wages due within seven working days rather than three, or at the end of the next regular pay period, whichever is sooner.
* Approved applications for tax exemptions submitted to the Assessor’s Office after the March 1 deadline.
* Approved an amendment to a contract with the Northeastern Arizona Innovative Workforce Solutions to increase funding in the amount of $960,496, increasing the reimbursement ceiling from $1,116,076 to $2,076,572.
* Approved naming an existing road in the Snowflake area Paso Drive.
* Authorized the county manager to sign a license agreement between the county and Verizon for Heber Green Tank Tower per a resolution.
* Approved a letter of support for the Salt River Project’s proposed Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) alternative operating strategy to the Regional Haze Federal Implementation Plan for the Coronado Generating Station.
* Approved an agreement to participate in the Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties for Stable Economic Growth to provide for mutual and common efforts in reviewing state and federal regulatory actions potentially impacting land and wildlife resource management, as well as the potential preparation, funding and direction of litigation and related activities pertaining to land use and resource management actions by federal agencies that affect the parties and the economies of the member counties.
* Authorized acceptance of grant funds from the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission totaling $83,960 to be used by victim services, which assists more than 600 victims each year.
* Authorized an amendment to a resolution allowing the county manager to execute certain contracts on behalf of the county when the contract price does not exceed $50,000 to include the assistant county managers.
* Approved a proclamation declaring September as National Preparedness Month.
* Authorized acceptance of an Emergency Management Program Grant in the amount of $268,686.33 with a 50 percent match from the county for the period of July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017.
