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PRESCOTT ARIZONA REAL ESTATE – Study Budget

6/5/2010 10:25:00 PM
Yavapai County supervisors to study budget Monday

By Linda Stein
The Daily Courier
The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors will consider the tentative $94.3 million county budget at a 1 p.m. workshop on Monday.
Julie Ayers, county administrator, said she would provide an overview of the 2010-11 budget, changes from the state Legislature and requests from department heads.
“The board will discuss it and not take action,” she said. The supervisors will discuss the budget and make suggestions as to what items it should include. Staff will continue to work on the budget until the board adopts it July 6. They plan to formally adopt it in August.

“We’re still in the work process,” Ayers said.

While the recession may be easing, the effects continue with government revenue, as real estate values dropped and an 18-month lag exists in appraisals under the state system. However, since the voters approved the 1-cent sales tax increase this past month, county officials have more wiggle-room to stay in the black.

When the tax passed, Supervisor Carol Springer said the county “dodged a bullet” because it otherwise might have faced a $13 million shortfall.

Before their budget discussions, the supervisors will hold their regular meeting at 9 a.m.

Among the items on the table, the board will consider The Upper Verde River Watershed Protection Coalition Safe Yield workgroup final report. The report details suggestions for how to reach safe yield, a term that means a balance between water going into and out of an aquifer. For the past 11 years, Prescott Active Management Area has been out of safe yield, continuing to deplete its groundwater.

The board also will discuss a proposal to bring fees for the Medical Examiner’s Office more in line with costs. The board previously increased fees for various services in January but directed staff to study the actual cost to the county for autopsy reports and cremation authorization. The proposal would take autopsy reports from $10 to $15; cremation authorization from $10 to $20; and investigation reports from $5 to $10. The changes provoked controversy among funeral directors.

In other business, the supervisors will consider whether to allow the City of Prescott to use Pioneer Park and Kuebler Field for a fireworks display on July 4 and issuing a letter of support for Prescott’s grant application to the Arizona Department of Transportation for overpasses on the Peavine Trail.