The Navajo County Board of Supervisors made a proclamation deeming Aug. 14 as Navajo Code Talkers’ Day. This proclamation is to honor those of the Navajo Nation who were called upon by the U.S. government to support the military efforts. More than four hundred Navajo men were recruited and enlisted to serve in standards communications units, these patriots became known as “Navajo Code Talkers.” Supervisor Alberto Peshlakai read from the proclamation, saying, “The Navajo Code Talkers were honorable men who performed an important service to the preservation of freedom and democracy.” Peshlakai noted that other Native tribes participated in this service as well. “We do not forget them.”

Later in the meeting, board received a presentation on the county’s grant performance, updates on grant funded projects and grant related issues. According to the presentation, the county spent $13.4 million in federal funds, received $5.5 million in grant funds and were awarded 30 grants in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.

The board received an annual treasurer’s report for FY 2025-26, including information on real property tax levy totals, the county’s investment portfolio and the treasurer’s processing fund. After the presentation, the board approved the receipt of the annual report of collections and delinquencies, settlement of accounts and request for authorization to invest funds.

Following the meeting, the board held a work session on information regarding data centers.

During the meeting, the board:

* Adopted of the FY 2026-2027 property tax rates for all Navajo County taxing districts.

* Approved tax year 2026 and FY 2027 tax rates and levies for all Navajo County School Districts.

* Approved the submission of comments regarding the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed revisions to 2 CFR Part 200, commonly referred to as the Uniform Guidance.

* Approved an appreciation letter to Arizona Congressman Eli Crane.

* Approved letters of support to Summit Healthcare for Regional Cancer Access and Technology Initiative and to 4th Trimester AZ for First 40 Days Rural Postpartum Care Innovation Initiative.

* Approved the marketing, website development, and retainer agreement with Razor Thin Media LLC. Razor Thin Media will consult for the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office to develop a comprehensive recruitment marketing program centered around a fully customized, recruitment-focused WordPress website. The website will serve as the primary recruitment and information hub for the sheriff’s office and will showcase the department’s mission, career opportunities, leadership, professionalism, community, and the lifestyle advantages of living and working in Navajo County. The agreement includes a one-time cost of $35,000 for website development and production, a $1,500 fee for a five-year GoDaddy Hosting Package, and a $2,000 monthly retainer for ongoing website management and marketing. Advertising costs are separate and will be funded by the sheriff’s office as needed.

* Approved to process 2026 fiscal year-end fund transfers that were included in the fiscal year budget for the fund reconciliations.

* Approved the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area agreement (HIDTA) in the amount of $132,801. The Sheriff’s Office has again received funding from the HIDTA program through the City of Tucson. The funds will pay for salary and partial employee related expenses for the HIDTA Major Crimes Apprehension Team Lieutenant, along with $12,000 of overtime salary. Additionally awarded was $7,500 for services and $5,000 for supplies.

* Approved the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission Drug, Gang, and Violent Crime Control grant for the sheriff’s office in the amount of $265,551. The award consists of $111,531 in federal funds, $87,631 in state funds and requires a $66,387 match. The grant pays the salary and employee related expenses for a minimum of two sheriff’s office personnel. The grant period runs from July 1 of this year to June 30, 2027.

* Approved of an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Navajo County, City of Show Low, and Show Low Unified School District for school resource officer services at Linden Elementary School for one year.

* Approved a resolution to cancel the Nov. 3, school governing board member elections and appointing those positions for: Cedar USD No. 25, Iris Yesslith, to fill one of two four-year terms and Alban Naha, a two-year term; Heber-Overgaard USD No. 6, Gwendolyn Hall and Brigham Tenney, four-year terms, and John Piva, a two-year term; Holbrook USD No. 3 Ward 1, Claudia Jackson, a four-year term; Holbrook USD No. 3 Ward 2, Linda Yazzie, a four-year term; Joseph City USD No. 2, Dayton Flake and Cat Hansen, both for four-year terms; Whiteriver No. 20, Kandace Declay and Candy Lupe, both for four-year terms; Northern Arizona Vocational Institute of Technology (NAVIT) Blue Ridge, Robert Stoddard, a four-year term; NAVIT Holbrook, Leon Heward, a four-year term; and NAVIT Show Low, Jerry Walker, a two-year term. The following positions received no nomination petitions and no nomination papers as of the statutory deadlines: Cedar USD No. 25, one four-year term; Holbrook USD No. 3 one two-year term for Ward 3; NATIVE Kayenta, one two-year term; and NAVIT Winslow, one four-year term.

* Approved the Navajo County Elections Department to conduct school governing board elections on Nov. 3, each for two four-year terms: Blue Ridge USD No. 32, Kayenta USD No. 27, Pinon USD No. 4, Show Low USD No. 10, Snowflake USD No. 5, and Winslow USD No. 1.

* Approved the change in vendors for backup services of the county’s data that is stored in the cloud. This will now be done by PowerProtect software sponsored by Dell for an annual contract at a cost of $5,184 per year for three years. Total cost is $15,552.

* Approved tax exemptions filed as a request for redemption of waiver.

* Approved the appointment of Diane A. Talbott, Martin L. Dornan and Jeffrey L. Crowl as Republican Precinct Committeeman for their respective precincts, valid through Oct. 1.

* Approved the certificate of removal and abatement purging record of tax, penalty and interest on personal property taxes.

* Approved the reissuance of a stale check in the amount of $140 for OID Overgaard Domestic Wastewater Improvement District.

* Approved a resolution to cancel the board member elections for the Heber/Overgaard Sanitary District, the Joseph City Sanitary District and the Pinetop Sanitary District on Nov. 3 and appointing the candidate(s) or deeming the position vacant.

* Approved a resolution to cancel the board member election for Nov. 3 for the following Water Improvement Districts: Joseph City, Ponderosa, Pinedale Estate, Misty Mountain, Heber, Clay Springs, Porter Creek, Overgaard Townsite, Wonderland Acres, Three-0-Three and Woodruff, and appointing the candidate(s) or deeming the position vacant.

* Approved a resolution to cancel the board member election for the following fire districts: Heber/Overgaard, Joseph City, Timber Mesa, McLaws Road, Woodruff, Sun Valley and Pinetop Fire, and appointing the candidate(s) or deeming the position vacant.

* Approved contracts signed by the county manager for Professional Services with Johnson Walzer Associates, LLC for the Navajo County Courts building family toilet remodel professional services contract.

* Approved contracts signed by the county manager for Cisco Support contract renewal and purchase agreements for Cisco Firewall, Nexus Switches, Cisco Switches and Cisco C9200s. The purchase agreements are for the procurement of hardware that is necessary for the security and stability of the Navajo County Network infrastructure.

* Approved sympathy letters for Michele Duran and Ora Jensen.

Convening as the Navajo County Public Health Services District, the board:

* Approved an amendment to the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) IGA for the Prop 201 Smoke-Free Arizona Program. The amendment adjusts reimbursement for progress reports and quarterly Contractor Expenditure Reports. The annual not-to-exceed contract amount is reduced to $57,878, a decrease from $75,082. The reduction in funding is due to decreased statewide tobacco product sales, which has reduced the available grant funding awarded by ADHS. All other terms, conditions, scope of work, and provisions of the original agreement remain unchanged.

* Approved the Healthy People Healthy Communities IGA contract between the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Navajo County Public Health Services District. The agreement consolidates funding for several existing public health prevention programs into a single contract, including Tobacco Prevention, Suicide Mortality Review, Child Fatality Review, the Health in Arizona Policy Initiative, Youth Mental Health First Aid and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.

* Approved an amended agreement between Navajo County Public Health Services District and Trilogy MedWaste. The amendment updates the existing Trilogy MedWaste service agreement by adding the Navajo County Code Enforcement Building, located at 1121 W. Pinedale Road in Taylor as an additional service location to complement the existing public health facility located at 600 N. 9th Place in Show Low. The amendment provides regulated medical waste collection services at the Taylor facility every four weeks, including two 43-gallon reusable regulated medical waste containers. The additional service includes a fee of $51.50 per container exchange, a $51.50 no-waste fee when applicable, and a $97.85 stop charge. These additional costs will be incorporated into the Medical Examiner Program’s operating budget. All other terms and conditions of the original agreement remain unchanged.

* Approved the federal award funding between Navajo County Public Health Services District and ADHS. ADHS awarded Navajo County Public Health’s Medical Examiner Program a $23,876 federal grant through the Overdose to Data Action States program. The Medical Examiner Program will utilize these funds to support forensic toxicology testing of suspected overdose deaths and enhance local medical examiner operations. These improvements will provide more timely and accurate overdose surveillance data while strengthening the county’s ability to investigate overdose-related deaths and support statewide public health initiatives. The grant will also assist with providing more accurate data to ADHS to help guide statewide prevention and intervention strategies.