With continued decreases to revenue, Navajo County is launching a public outreach plan to help local communities and members of the public better understand the “potentially catastrophic” budgetary challenges ahead.
Communications Manager Adam Wolf explained that as much of the state continues to recover economically, Navajo County simply isn’t. “Our citizens need to understand what we are proposing to deal with this new financial reality, and that the delivery of services will look different in the future,” he said.
According to Wolfe, the closure of the Navajo Generating Station will result in the closure of the Kayenta Mine, costing the region hundreds of jobs, millions of dollars in revenue and negatively impacting Navajo and Hopi communities across the region.
The closure of Unit Two at Cholla in October of 2015 caused the county to lose $30 million in property value. This decrease in property value reduced General Fund property tax revenue by over $200,000. The pending closure of the other three units will result in a $1 million plus loss in property tax revenue.
The county is also being mandated to make changes to security at the Navajo County Governmental Complex, requiring new expenditures for security equipment and personnel.
The county is also facing large increases to some of the state retirement plans, with a 129 percent ($558,000) increase is projected in fiscal year 2018.
“The county receives nearly $1.3 million in revenue from housing federal inmates. Although this is an important funding source, it is not guaranteed each year and is typically used for one-time expenditures,” said Wolfe.
He explained that the county continues to work to find innovative solutions to provide state mandated services to residents but added that it is unrealistic to continue providing these services in the same manner.
The county is looking at how these services are delivered and exploring creative solutions to streamline the process and do government differently. They are evaluating all internal services and structures, as well as all non-mandated services, to see where they can improve efficiency and save money.
