Winslow city officials are beginning to outline what lies ahead in 2026, offering an early look at how election timing, fiscal limits and ongoing development efforts are expected to shape the city’s priorities in the coming year.
City Manager David Coolidge spoke about the several issues the city plans on bringing to voters in November, including extending the .025% hospital tax that is set to expire July 16, 2026. Because there was no city election in 2025, the tax could not be renewed earlier, resulting in a temporary lapse before it can be returned to the ballot. Coolidge described the lapse as unavoidable under the current election schedule rather than a policy choice by the city.
Coolidge said a state mandate requiring cities to hold their elections at the same time as state and federal elections has created unintended consequences for municipal tax schedules, resulting in lapses in tax collection for some communities. In Winslow’s case, the hospital tax that supports Winslow’s Little Colorado Medical Center was approved for a five-year term, a shorter duration than similar taxes in many other Arizona cities. Because of the shift in election timing, Winslow became the first city in the state to experience a tax lapse tied to the new election calendar. Coolidge said the League of Cities is working to propose an amendment to state law that would automatically extend any local taxes set to expire in odd-numbered years by one additional year, allowing them to be placed back before voters before a lapse occurs.
Another major issue expected to go before voters in 2026 is a proposed Home Rule authorization. Coolidge said, “We are one of nine cities still under statute limitations. I don’t want to be one of those nine.” What that means is that Winslow remains subject to a state expenditure limitation formula created in the 1970s, which restricts how much the city can spend each year regardless of available revenue. Coolidge said only nine cities statewide still operate under the statutory limit and that Winslow’s continued inclusion among them increasingly constrains large-scale projects.
Approval of Home Rule would allow the city to set its own spending limits locally. Coolidge emphasize that Home Rule would not raise taxes but would provide flexibility to meet required payments tied to infrastructure projects.
One example cited was the Winslow levee reconstruction project, which involves a required payment of approximately $7 million to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the time of construction. The city currently sets aside half a million dollars a year for the project but when the construction is ready they will need to pay around $7 million, which will be counted as part of the city’s expenditures. Under the current spending formula, that payment would exceed the spending limit even though funding sources exist. Coolidge said this puts cities, not just Winslow, in an odd spot where they have to get creative with their balance sheets to allow for certain funds to be expended.
For instance, Coolidge said in order to pay the Army Corps of Engineers for their work on the levee without hitting its limits, the city would have to take on debt to pay it, even though the city has the money to pay for it, it isn’t legally allowed to use its own money. Coolidge is hoping voters see the unique and unfortunate position this puts the city in and voters approve authorization of a Home Rule style expenditure limitation.
As far as updates on the full levee project Coolidge said that by the end of 2026, city officials expect about 35% of the design work to be completed, with construction anticipated to begin in 2030.
Coolidge is also paying a large amount of attention to current state-level legislation affecting local food taxes. Proposed changes could limit or eliminate municipal taxes on groceries. Coolidge said Winslow’s largest tax generators include Walmart and Safeway, and that food sales taxes account for as much as 30% of the city’s general fund. Loss of that revenue, he said, would significantly reduce the city’s ability to fund services beyond core functions such as police and fire, potentially affecting departments like the library, parks and recreation.
In 2026, economic development efforts tied to the I-40 Tradeport remain active. Winslow is participating in the I-40 Tradeport Corridor initiative alongside Kingman and Albuquerque. A $15 million federal RAISE grant associated with the project allocated $12 million to develop the parkway, which will be managed by GLD Partners and $3 million directly to the city to develop the Lindbergh Parkway. The parkway will connect Interstate 40 and State Route 87, which is intended to route truck traffic away from residential and downtown areas. City officials expect approximately 35% of the design work on that project to be completed by the end of 2026, because this is a multi-phased project that should be about enough to put shovels in the ground for the first phase, Coolidge says.
Development discussions with Atlas Global also continue. The company is in escrow for approximately 1,100 acres south of the Winslow airport, reduced from an earlier amount of 1,200 acres. The current development agreement includes a deadline at the end of February, at which point the city council will need to decide whether to approve an extension or approve an agreement with Atlas Global Development.
Coolidge also sees several private-sector projects are expected to move forward during the year, including a Circle K truck stop, a new hotel and additional housing developments. In the downtown area, the long-planned railcar restroom project is expected to go out to bid soon. However, compared to last year there will be fewer capital projects in development.
City leadership characterizes 2026 as a continuation year rather than one defined by new major construction starts. In 2025, Winslow completed its first new city building in roughly 40 years with the opening of the public library. For 2026 Winslow is looking at prioritizing these large multi-year developments and setting themselves for success in getting them across the finish line.
