By L. Parsons The Navajo County Board of Supervisors met last week to solidify the county budget for fiscal year 2022 last week. At their last meeting, the board approved the tentative budget and there were no changes to the final version which was approved unanimously. Finance Director Jason Vowell reiterated to the board that the county is in a stable, if not strong, financial position despite economic struggles of years past and the COVID-19 pandemic. The greatest revenue contributors to the budget this fiscal year will be the American Rescue Plan Act which will bring $21.5 million in direct payments to the county, as well as a projected increase in state shared sales tax revenue. Expenditures continue to be largest in the public safety sector including the Sheriff’s Office, the County Attorney’s Office and operating costs for the County Jail, as well as employee salaries and benefits countywide. The total of financial resources available for the upcoming year is $176.2 million, a $29.2 million increase over last year. Following Vowell’s comments, a required public hearing was held in compliance with a state statute. No public comments were made. All other county departments presented their budgets during the last meeting and were approved unanimously. In other business, the board: * Convened in an executive session for a briefing by Deputy County Attorney Jason Moore on the National Opioid Litigation. No action or further discussion took place. * Approved the sale of 53 back tax land parcels sold over the counter in the amount of $22,695.31. * Approved the reissuance of stale dated checks issued as refunds for overpaid property taxes or investor payments. * Approved an application for the extension of premises for John D. Wibby with the American Legion, Post 86 located at 2068 Lumber Valley Road in Overgaard for a temporary extension on July 3. * Approved an annual agreement between the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside and Navajo County for the employment of the magistrate court clerk. The purpose is to achieve greater efficiency in the operations of the magistrate court and the justice court by having the justice court clerical staff perform the clerical duties of the magistrate court. * Accepted Byrne Grant funds from the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission in the amount of $169,315 to pay partial salaries for two dedicated prosecutors to prosecute drug sale and trafficking offenses. * Appointed Bill Jeffers to the Public Safety Retirement System Local Board. * Approved and accepted the assets, liabilities, and current funding ratio of the county’s Public Safety Personnel Retirement System Pension Funding Policy trust funds as reported by PSPRS, the plan administrator from their June 30, 2020, actuarial valuation. * Approved tax exemption waivers for widows or disabled persons whose property is exempt from tax. * Approved the reappointment of Gary Moore, David Miller, Gail Campbell and Elizabeth Flake to the Workforce Development Board until July 1, 2024. * Approved County Attorney’s Anti-Racketeering Revolving Funds (AARF) in the amount of $2,500 to Show Low Youth Recreation and Sports Foundation to help provide alternatives to substance abuse, gang affiliation and prevention of criminal activity in juveniles. * Approved AARF funds in the amount of $2,500 to the Family Advocacy Center to continue their work in assisting law enforcement with investigations and prosecution involving crimes against children, sexual assault and domestic violence. * Approved the surplus and seized vehicle and equipment list and authorized the publishing of the notice of the same scheduling the public surplus online auction for July 12 through 26. * Approved a revolving credit agreement between Navajo County and Wells Fargo Bank for the period of July 1 through June 30, 2022. * Approved a revolving credit agreement between Navajo County’s political subdivisions and Wells Fargo Bank. * Approved a submission of interest to the Arizona Commerce Authority for a National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Rural Broadband Grant opportunity. The grant will allow the County to partner with Sparklight to build a fiber to premise broadband network in the Heber-Overgaard area. * Approved an intergovernmental agreement between the City of Show Low and Navajo County for a cooler to be utilized by the medical examiner and emergency management programs. City of Show Low has a large food grade cooler that they don’t need but need removed from a building. The county needs a cooler to meet storage needs to store corpses pending investigation. * Recognized Margarita Mike of the Superintendent of Schools Office and Danielle Monette of the County Attorney’s Office for excellence in personal performance. * Accepted the resignation of Constable Samuel Grimes of Justice Precinct III and appointed Michelle Hunt to fill the remainder of the unexpired term of the vacant office. * Approved a special use permit that allows expansion of an existing boat and self-storage facility located at 7837 White Mountain Lake Road in Show Low. * Appointed Rusty Garvin and Rodney Montano to the Victory Heights Road Maintenance District Advisory Committee. * Approved a second amendment to the agreement between the Silver Creek Irrigation District and the White Mountain Lakes County Recreation Improvement District as an agreement between the two entities regarding water levels for White Mountain Lake. The next meeting of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, July 20, in the board meeting room, located at 100 E. Code Talkers Drive.
