Yuma, Ariz. – The City of Yuma’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 is available for review, and residents are invited to provide comment to the City Council at the June 2 and June 16 City Council Meetings.
The City’s Annual Budget is a policy document which encompasses past trends and economic realities, while also providing a financial framework for progression of the highest priorities of the City Council as expressed in the City’s new Strategic Plan. These priorities are further refined by community input, which provides the City with real-time feedback about how the community’s resources are proposed to be used.
The FY 2022 budget theme is “Strengthening the Core” which identifies the pivotal moment that the City finds itself in as we continue to recover from the lingering effects of both the Great Recession and the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The City of Yuma is anticipating great things for the coming fiscal year. Due to widespread vaccinations in Yuma and across Arizona, the City of Yuma is fully open for business and has returned to a regular service delivery model.
Over the past decade the City has been forced by external realities to reduce, defer and delay some of its maintenance and operations for those areas that the community most depends on. By focusing intensely on the City’s existing assets and core services in FY 2022, the City of Yuma has a unique opportunity to move into a future of prosperity and strength.
The proposed FY 2022 annual budget is $522.4 million which encompasses all funds and capital improvement projects, is balanced as required by law and demonstrates the City’s resiliency as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and begin emerging into a far more prosperous time. Included in this year’s proposed budget is:
- $122.4 million PSPRS unfunded liability and strong contingency reserves
- 80.0 million Desert Dunes Wastewater Plant expansion
- $23.1 million America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) planning
- $106.9 million increase Capital Improvement Program expenditures over FY 2021
- $25.1 million in additional grant funded projects over FY 2021
To further ensure responsible stewardship of the public’s resources a 22% Target Fund Reserve is allocated in the General Fund for FY 2022 to keep critical services ongoing for nearly three months, even if revenues were to drop to zero during that time. In addition, a 3% Budget Stabilization Reserve is included in the General Fund to be used as an immediate stop-gap in the event that our fiscally conservative forecasts are still inadequate to meet the actualities of the coming year.
As presented, this budget considers decreasing the primary tax rate for Fiscal Year 2022, but increasing the primary property tax levy. The proposed property tax rate is $2.2681 which is a decrease from the current rate of $2.3185. This equates to a 2.17% reduction in the tax rate from FY 2021 to FY 2022.
The proposed FY 2022 budget can be found on the annual budget page of the City’s website, www.yumaaz.gov.
Residents can submit comments via the website or during the budget hearings to be held during the regular City Council meetings on Wednesday, June 2 and Wednesday, June 16 at 5:30 pm. The budget is scheduled for final adoption on June 16.
Truth in Taxation Hearing
Notice of Tax Increase
In compliance with Section 42-17107, Arizona Revised Statutes, the City of Yuma is notifying its property taxpayers of City of Yuma’s intention to raise its primary property taxes over last year’s level. City of Yuma is proposing an increase in primary property taxes of $315,239, or 2.21 percent.
For example, the proposed tax increase will cause the City of Yuma’s primary property taxes on a $100,000 home to be $226.81 (total proposed taxes including the tax increase). Without the proposed tax increase, the total taxes that would be owed on a $100,000 home would have been $221.98.
This proposed increase is exclusive of increased primary property taxes received from new construction. The increase is also exclusive of any changes that may occur from property tax levies for voter-approved bonded indebtedness or budget and tax overrides.
All interested citizens are invited to attend the public hearing on the tax increase that is scheduled to be held during the June 16, 2021, City Council meeting at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, One City Plaza. Also during this meeting, a public hearing will be conducted on the final adoption of the City’s budget for Fiscal Year 2022.
