The Navajo County Board of Supervisors held a regular meeting on Tuesday and authorized a number of funding awards and agreements for the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, including a Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA) Border Fencing and Technology grant agreement for additional funding for equipment to be utilized for Operation Desert Guardian. The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with Coconino, Gila and Apache counties, have partnered to support the mission of Operation Desert Guardian, which consists of local neighborhood criminal suppression details, interstate criminal interdiction details, and tactical operations throughout Arizona.
The Sheriff’s Office requested and was approved for $372,230 in equipment as well as $119,158 in supplies and training to further this effort. The total of the award from the DEMA is $419,388 and there is no required match. Equipment and supplies include, but are not limited to ballistic shields, two outfitted vehicles, X-ray, license plate readers, night vision goggles, pepper ball guns and bola wraps.
The board also authorized acceptance of an Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC) Drug, Gang, and Violent Crime Control grant in the amount of $255,301. The Sheriff’s Office was awarded $122,544 by the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, and passed through to the ACJC, state funds in the amount of $68,931, and matching funds of $63,825 for a total amount of $255,301. This grant pays the salary and employee related expenses (ERE) for two of NCSO Major Crimes Apprehension Team (MCAT) sergeants and 25% of the MCAT secretary’s salary and ERE. The grant period runs from July 1 to June 30, 2026. This grant already contains all obligatory signatures.
In addition, the board authorized acceptance of the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission Fiscal Year 2026 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment award. The Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with Wextford Health, has developed a jail-based 90-day substance use disorder (SUD) treatment program. The award allows $200,000 for professional consultant and contractual services for funding of the SUD treatment services program, including staffing, management fees and program costs.
Additionally, NCSO was awarded $40,000 for temporary housing and moving costs for up to 80 individuals lodging in a local motel and/or hotel to help assist them in making a successful transition into the community. The total of this award is $240,000 with $180,000 in federal funding from the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs and a $60,000 required grant match slated to be paid out of the Opioid Settlement money received. The term of this grant award is from July 1 through June 30, 2026.
In other business, the board:
* Adopted the proposed tentative budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 for Navajo County.
* Adopted the tentative FY 2025-26 budgets for the individual districts in Navajo County.
* Approved a resolution canceling the Oct. 1 election for the Silver Creek Flood Protection District and appointing two positions and deeming one position vacant due to no nominating petitions being filed.
* Approved a resolution designating Jayson Vowell as the Navajo County Chief Financial Officer to submit the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report (AELR) for the year ended June 30, 2026.
* Approved the National Forest funds distribution $52,752 for the benefit of public schools and public roads.
* Approved amended forest fees distributions to include Title III, Firewise Communities. The board previously approved forest fees distributions to Navajo County school districts that include national forests within their district boundaries. However, Title III distributions were not included in the initial proposed and approved disbursements.
* Approved County Overdose Prevention and Engagement Legal Defense Services contract amendment, which corrects a discrepancy between the written and numeric hourly rates in the contract.
* Approved legal counsel for the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System and Corrections Officers Retirement Plan boards with Ryan Rapp Pacheco Sorensen, PLC.
* Approved the updated Chief Elected Officials and Northeastern Arizona Local Workforce Development Board (LWDB) partnership agreement updating organizational structure.
* Approved a memorandum of understanding between Northeastern Arizona LWDB and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Partners to document the alignment, accessibility, and quality of workforce development services made available to a partner-shared customer pool.
* Authorized acceptance of the Fiscal Year 2026 Arizona Criminal Justice Commission Victims’ Rights Compensation Fund Grant in the amount of $133,675. The victim compensation program provides financial assistance to victims of crime or others who may have experienced a financial loss as a direct result of a crime. The program covers expenses of physical harm, mental distress, and economic loss directly resulting from victimization. Funds from this grant provide salary and ERE for administering the Compensation program as well as provides benefits for victims of crime.
* Approved a vehicle radio repeaters and components contract to JC Cullen Inc. doing business as Niles Radio Communications in the amount of $353,152.
* Approved the cancellation of the Oct. 28 meeting due to the County Supervisors Association Legislative Conference happening Oct. 28-30.
* Appointed Amanda Silverhorn, executive secretary, as an alternate clerk of the board to perform clerk of the board functions while clerk is away from the office.
* Approved a letter of appreciation to Commissioner Wayne Booher for his service on the Planning and Zoning Commission.
* Approved sympathy letters to Deputy Bric Hudson and the family of Jay Turley.
* Held a public hearing for the consideration of a liquor license application for Keith Brian Turner for Truckstop AZ located at 5549 State Route 260, Lakeside.
* Held a presentation honoring Martha Redhorse Lee for her 55 years of service to the Seba Delkai Community School and a presentation honoring NCSO Sergeant Scott Badger on his retirement from Navajo County after 20 years of service.
Convening as the Navajo County Public Health Services District, the board:
* Approved an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the Arizona Department of Health Services and Navajo County Public Health Services District for renewal of Healthy People, Healthy Communities to provide services to the community. This IGA allows the county to provide services to the community, such as tobacco prevention, teen health, positive youth development, chronic disease prevention and fatality reviews.
* Approved an IGA between the Arizona Department of Health Services and Navajo County Public Health Services District to provide injury prevention services. This IGA allows the county to provide injury prevention, family planning, well woman exams, cancer screenings and other public health services to our community.
* Approved an amendment to the Child Care Health Consultation contract with First Things First for Fiscal Year 2026. The Child Care Health Consultant strategy works with early care and education administrative and teaching staff at child care centers and homes to increase their knowledge and implementation of health and safety practices. The program is grant-funded through First Things First and provides services to four regions: Navajo/Apache region, the White Mountain Apache Tribe region, the San Carlos Apache Tribe region and the Navajo Nation region. This program is in its 11th year with the county’s Public Health Services District.
* Approved an IGA amendment between the Arizona Department of Health Services and Navajo County Public Health Services District reflecting a change in the budget to allow professional services to contract out peer support and case management services.
