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Navajo County voters took to the polls on Aug. 27 and voted nearly two to one to add a one-third of a cent sales tax to all non-grocery purchases of goods in Navajo County for the next 20 years.
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According to the unofficial results, 14,330, or 21.94 percent of registered voters, cast ballots out of 65,300 registered voters in the county. Of the total ballots cast, 9,480 voted in favor of the tax and 4,831 voted against it.
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The tax will go towards a Navajo County Jail District allowing the funds currently allocated towards the operations of the jail to be redirected to other necessary services in the county.
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The tax is estimated to bring in more than $2.5 million each year, or $15 million over the next 20 years, to offset the loss of revenues from the impeding closures of the Cholla Power Plant and Navajo Generating Station. The funds made available due to the passage of the tax will be used to maintain the level of services currently provided by the county.
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As a benefit to local municipalities, the implantation of the tax will mean they will no longer have to pay jail fees to the county to incarcerate misdemeanor arrests. The savings to the City of Holbrook will be approximately $184,000 per year, or nearly $4 million over 20 years; the City of Winslow will save approximately $328,000 a year, or $6.5 million over the 20-year term of the tax; and the towns of Snowflake and Taylor will save approximately $41,310 annual, or $826,200 over the 20-year term. The tax will not be in effect on the Navajo Nation.
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The tax will exclude “grocery” purchases generally defined as all food purchases except ready-to-eat foods.
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