Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Good morning, everyone. We're about ready to start. Before we start, I will ask if you have your cell phone handy. If you can take it out, please put it on vibrate or mute or turn it off. That would be greatly appreciated. At this time, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors calls this meeting to order on July 1st, 2026 at 930 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room 120, located at 2150 North Congress Drive, Nogales, Arizona, 85621. At this time, Mr. Manager, adoption of the agenda. Are there any changes? Excuse me. If we could stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Dan, if you would please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Manager?

Mr. Chair, there is one change to the agenda. Item 3 on the consent agenda. So it's J3. If we could remove it, please.

Removed.

Thank you.

Okay. At this time, I'll entertain a motion to adopt the agenda as presented, excluding J3 on the consent agenda, and allow the chair to deviate where necessary. I move. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries unanimously. At this time, we'll move to item C, call to the public. And if I could miss, when you come up to the podium, if you could please state your name, your address, that would be greatly appreciated. And I know there's about three folks here that have given a slip, but they'd rather speak during the expenditure limit increase. But we will give everyone an opportunity if they so choose. Susan Fobian.

Gentlemen, thank you very much. I've missed a few meetings. You're welcome. Susan Fobian, 20 Kent's Avenue, Rio Rico. I am advised by the sheriff's office that there is no noise ordinance. They will go out on every call they receive, but they have no teeth because there is no ordinance. So sometimes they have to go out several times during a celebratory occasion. I admit it might be hard to regulate volume. I personally am very deficit in my hearing, so my feeling is if I can hear it, it's too loud. So I am asking that you check with other counties. I'm also advised that we're the only county in the state of Arizona without a noise ordinance. And that would probably be useful to check up on. So that is my request. Even Amazon sells decibel meters so that there can be some consistency of what is allowed. I am not against celebrations, but when they start moving on into the early morning hours at a volume that doesn't allow sleep for a lot of people, that's when I have to be concerned. Thank you.

Thank you, Susan. Bonnie Tetre.

Good morning, Supervisors, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Dr. Bonnie Tetre. I reside in Rio Rico. I want to once again mention the Voteri lots and the possible sale of them. I've heard that according to ARS 11251, you could not do first right of refusal. I have read that and read that and I have yet to find where first right of refusal is mentioned. Even if it's true, there's always an exception to a rule. I can actually work on taking that up with the legislators in Phoenix. I'm still interested in three of these lots because I own the property that borders next to them. I'm still in the process of putting these all together in an animal conservation trust to help protect the area's natural wildlife. Did any of you know that the Gila monster was the first protected animal in this country? It is currently on the threatened list and approaching endangered status. I have seen five so far and I have met people that have lived here 15 years and over and they've never saw one. Their biggest threat to them is the destruction of their habitat and the builders and contractors that come in just completely clear lots and I think that's why we're seeing so many because the lots I own, they're natural. Whoever put the deed restrictions on the Volterri lots had the foresight to address this and the water situation here. Under the deed restrictions, CCRs, under E1, reducing the demand for water, sewer, and other utilities, and the expense of providing such utilities to the property. Double I, preserving additional areas of open space and natural vegetation and wildlife habitat. And triple I, limiting demands upon groundwater and surface water within and in the vicinity. Arizona already has a water problem. It is facing 77% cuts in its share of the Colorado River. Phoenix and Tucson both rely on that watershed. We don't here in Rio Rico or Santa Cruz County, so let's not have Phoenix problems here in this county. Also, one last thing in your budget meeting, I hope you set aside some money to address the issue with the Humane Society. I know it's a non-profit, but this issue needs to be addressed. I remember that a few months ago there was a presentation by Animal Control and they were talking about a new facility and how they're a no-kill shelter. Well, I'm afraid if they have to absorb everything from the Humane Society, they are going to become a kill society. Thank you.

Thank you. Cynthia, it's either Colbert. Colbert.

Good morning good morning board staff and members of the public my name is Cynthia Colbert and I live on Luna Court in Rio Rico I'm here this morning to remind Santa Cruz County and the city of Nogales that it's time to step up and help out the Humane Society. They are a critical part of the county and need assistance. I seem to remember over a year ago, the county approved the moving of the animal control facility here to the county land. They even paid to have an estimate of how much it would cost and a design plan of what it would look like. So far, nothing has been done. Maybe this would work together with the Humane Society. There are many options here, so let's get busy.

Thank you. Chris Workoven.

Good morning, supervisors and everybody else here. My name is Chris Workhoven. I live in Marana after 15 years in Senoida. It was brought to my attention that the county may be considering to have its own water and soil study done. Maybe true, maybe not true. My point of having a citizen science council established will not change on that. Why? Because the recent experience with ADEQ on that subject, and ADEQ does receive considerable permit fees from permit applicants, a conflict of interest must be avoided to obtain relevant data and truthful conclusions on permit applications. The same holds for the CPBA panel, whose members are handpicked by permit applicant Psalm 32. Santa Cruz County and the town of Patagonia already received donations and will receive early investments, quote, from South 32 next to taxes and other fees. With such flagrant conflict of interest, only an independent citizen science council is acceptable to protect the environment. Its responsibility is to analyze omissions and misrepresentations present in current ADEQ permits, amend permits with already available new evidence, and oversee any model verification study on water, soil, and air, the latter being painfully absent so far. Continuing revelations from monitoring water and air will ensure that elected politicians support this need. Today, constituents rely on inadequate information about antimony plume mobilization, water treatment plant risk, tailored production of zinc and lead delayed without a date of completion, and Clark not producing manganese. so far, while all minerals mentioned are being advertised as critical to U.S. security. Mismanagement like this just adds to the risk the public should be protected from by an independent citizen science council. Thank you for your attention. Thank you, Chris.

Robin Luckey.

Good morning, supervisors. I'm Robin Luckey, President of the Calabasas Alliance, 1377 Camino Faja. And I'm pleased to announce that for the University of Arizona, Mellon Edith Zuckerman College of Public Health officials are here in the lobby. And this is to promote and to complete a comprehensive study, health study, of our county before the beginning of the South 32 Hermosa excavation project. I would urge all of you to please stop by and talk to them. It won't take much time. Pick up a flyer. Use your phone. Use the QR code. But please give them your feedback. It's very, very important. As part of the health of this community The other thing that I wanted to talk about is some good news Arizona State University has chosen Calabasas Alliance along with four other entities to begin Testing water they are giving us at least probably twelve to fifteen thousand dollars in equipment to test water wherever it is whether it's well water whether it's a river water whether it's sewer water or it's water out of your tap so we do have a limited amount of locations we can test but there will be more forthcoming on that and we're very very very happy to be chosen to steward that in our community thank you for your time thank you robin

Alejandro, do you want to wait until the public hearing or would you like to come up? Okay. And the same question to Jay? Come on up, sir.

Hello, supervisors, county officials, and fellow citizens. Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Jay Thompson from Rio Rico, and I want to speak on the expenditure limit adjustment. The hearing today, in a little bit, is supposed to build public trust through transparency, yet many in our community feel left out of the decisions that could expand county spending authority by 60% or about 20 million bucks. We know the extra available cash today in the coffers here as well as the expected revenue increase coming in the future. But the base expenditure limit expense side only notes a broad list of potential uses, roads, water programs, parks, river restoration and more without clear priorities or numbers. It erodes confidence but that's not where the big numbers are. people want to believe their input matters but vague notices and limited detail make it feel like a formality rather than real involvement we deserve the best arizona law requires disclosure of the basis for this adjustment and right now that basis is not clear the public Here are a few basic questions from the community that need to be answered before any action. Number one, what specific cost, not general categories, are driving this large increase, or is it just you wanna be able to spend what's coming in in the future? Number two, how much of the new money will go towards salaries, benefits, and retirement, which already makes up about 65 or 70% of the operating budget here today? Where do our critical needs come in, like the comprehensive water study, animal shelter, safety, health and human services, food for families, et cetera? What part of this is tied to South 32's impacts they should be paying for, such as water balance monitoring, infrastructure strain, or emergency planning? Finally, number five, does the county plan to borrow or tap restricted funds or wait for expected revenue to materialize? And how will this affect taxpayers long term when things don't go as expected? We know business. To summarize, this is not a checkbox item. Strong communities are built on trust and real involvement. Please provide details so residents can understand and support responsible decisions. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Those are all the sheets I have. Is there anyone else who would like to come up to the podium for a call to the public? OK. Seeing none, we will move to item D, current events. And I will turn to my left, Supervisor Mullera.

Good morning. Good morning, Mr. Chair. I just have a few items to report. I was gone all last week celebrating my 37th wedding anniversary with my beautiful wife. So thank you. Thank you. I'm truly privileged and honored. On a sad note, I want to send out my condolences and prayers to Jose Oscar Lopez and his family who recently passed. As a matter of fact, the services are this afternoon. And I want to wish my dad a happy heavenly birthday, today's his birthday. And lastly, I want to thank Mr. Chavez, Ms. Martinez, our finance department for working really hard. These days are really tough on our finance department because it's the change of fiscal year and we got a rollover and so they've been working diligently and I don't think Mr. Chavez has gone home in a couple days. Thank you. Thank you again. Thank your staff. That is all I have, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, sir.

Vice Chair.

Good morning, everyone. I would like to start my updates wishing Michelle Ward, U.S. Consulate General in Nogales, Mexico, the very best in her next chapter. Ms. Ward is an exceptional person who always welcomes everyone with warmth and kindness. She visited us here at the Santa Cruz County Complex, and we also had the opportunity to visit her in Nogales, Mexico at the U.S. Consulate. She worked closely with many people throughout the Arizona-Sonoma region, and I witnessed her impact last week during the Arizona-Mexico Commission AMC Conference. She played an important role in strengthening community communication, building relationships, and facilitating dialogue on many binational issues that are so important to our region. We thank her for her service and wish her continued success. We attended the 67th Arizona-Mexico Commission in Hermosillo, Sonora last week. The AMC is composed of 11 committees, such as education, economic development, tourism, security, environment and water, among others. A major topic of discussion was semiconductors and the impact this industry will have on Arizona and Sonora. Another major topic was transportation, infrastructure, and ports. Mr. Guillermo Memo Valencia delivered an outstanding presentation focused on the future of the Deconcini Port of Entry. The discussion highlighted the anticipated $1.5 billion investment and the significant impact this Port of Entry is expected to have not only in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, but across the United States. Having said that, it is essential that we continue to identify and explore by national collaborators and opportunities and define the county's role within this mega region as these transformative changes continue to unfold. Many of us attended the candidate forum for contenders running for city mayor and city council that took place downtown Nogales at the GOC building. And I want to thank Santa Cruz Valley Democrats and We Love Nogales for making this event possible and helping provide more information to the community members who are running for this position. Adam Munoz is here who is always doing an exceptional work. I don't know how he covers all these events around the county. So give him an applause. I want to thank Public Works for repairing three concrete panels in the Nogales Wash. I want to acknowledge and express my gratitude for addressing this issue proactively before the monsoon season began. I want to take the time to thank Mr. Jesus Valdez, Santa Cruz County Manager, and Mr. Alan Sanchez, Santa Cruz County Floodplain Control, for being proactive in visiting some constituents in the Monte Carlo neighborhood that experienced a major flooding issue last year. In an effort to address this situation, have been assessing the area and exploring possible solutions to help ensure that these families reduce and ultimately eliminate flooding concerns. Helping these families is very important, so thanks again, both of you, for all your hard work and I hope we can find a solution soon. I also want to thank Santa Cruz County Control, Mr. Pena, and all his staff for working hard to explore solutions after hearing of the closure of Humane Society. Mr. Pena is here with us and he will provide more information on the current situation later during this meeting. This marks one year since my niece, Ashley Sestagamala, passed away. A mass was held two days ago to celebrate her life. There are no words that can truly comfort parents and family after such a heartbreaking loss, especially at such a young age. We continue to have Ashley and the entire family in our prayers. Mr. Shearer, that concludes my updates. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. And then now for my updates. We were able to take part in the ADOT Transportation Board reception and meeting. I want to thank the Arizona Department of Transportation for visiting and being part of our community. The meeting itself was very well attended, so I wanted to say thank you to the entire ADOT team. I also was part of the Arizona-Mexico Commission, the summit. One of the thing one of the breakouts that I was part of was the water and happy to say that On both sides of the border also washes is Being discussed quite a bit. So we're hoping that You know that we're moving in the right direction there So that's on a lot of people's minds and I wanted to make sure that people knew that at that at the state level Also had an opportunity this weekend to head out to the eastern portion of the county to the lavender festival the Oh goodness Harwell family Do an incredible job out there and if you if you've never had an opportunity to visit the lavender festival or just the lavender farm itself I'd highly recommend that the Harwell's are incredible people and I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of folks that were out there. So if you do have an opportunity next year to head out to the Lavender Festival, well worth it, well worth it. I was also at the City of Nogales Forum candidate. I asked the same question to each one of the mayor candidates as well as the city council. My question was very simple and I will whittle it down to its finest point and that is what do they see do they see an importance of working with the county working more with the county and and being on the same on the same team I guess is what I'm saying so each one of them gave it gave an adequate answer and I'm hoping that once we have elections that the county and the city can become much closer I hoping that can happen we'll see Also, just this week, I had an opportunity to attend, and I apologize if I butcher this, the Herencia Viva Showcase and Recognition at the Gok Theater. And I know that Vice Chair Davis mentioned Edgardo, but Edgardo, thank you so much for allowing us to use the Gok Theater for a lot of different meetings that we've had in the past. Not only for the candidate forum, but for the NCA viva showcase and recognition. So thank you, sir I also took part yesterday in the WRRC water webinar. And lastly, Mr. Deputy County Manager Young and myself took part in a border wall update from yesterday. We were able to talk to the folks from Fisher Industries. So we have, they're heading, they're on schedule. They're still looking at the 20 miles of Santa Cruz County and then some. uh so uh we thank them for for taking that meeting and for uh enlightening us on what's happening uh with building the border and we were also to able to discuss with them speed limits and making sure that the safety of the people in the eastern portion of the county are paramount and that concludes my current events and i will turn it over to our county manager

Mr. Chair, the next phase for the county complex and some of the maintenance issues that we have is the painting of the building and the wall. We met with the contract yesterday. They're going to provide a schedule. We expect that work will start at the June 15th so on we will keep everybody posted and ask everybody to Sorry, July that I said you July July 15th Just for everybody's patience and we'll inform them through Shannon and our website so this is the next phase the first phase was the The asphalt and the reconstruction of the roads. Thank you. Thank you, sir

At this time, we'll move to item E, department reports and activities, finance, cash and investments, expenditures and revenue reports.

Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board. For the cash and investment report on the general fund, we have an overall balance of $26,593,169 with an invested amount of $15,222,563. In the road fund, we have an overall balance of $6,410,398 with an invested amount of $5,234,210. In the flood control district, we have an overall balance of $3,218,804, with an invested amount of $315,452. In the jail district, we have an overall balance of $6,755,064, with an invested amount of $4,495,982. for a total overall balance of $67,418,784, with an invested amount of $27,435,375, with an estimated end-of-month balance of $13,391,650. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor Maleta? No. Vice Chair? No. Thank you. Thank you.

Are there any other department updates? Come on up, Mr. Paz, treasurer.

Morning, sir. Good morning, Mr. Chair. Morning. Board of Supervisors, Honey Management, and members of the public. Just have a few quick updates. I also want to thank Finance for their hard work and also include all the other departments that have to deal with the Treasurer's Office for fiscal year end. We were able to successfully close it yesterday about 7 PM. We got done and wrapped up. So it was a good day. As far as other updates for District 28, all of the corrections have been completed as of last week. All refunds have been mailed as of yesterday or will be mailed within today and tomorrow to the mortgage companies who processed overpayments or to the individuals who don't have mortgages on their homes. The checks will include interest accrued for both overpayments that were processed, so they should be receiving those here soon. Our bank transition to PNC, we are finally almost there. I think last night at about 1 a.m. I sent out the email to all entities scheduling our final jam session to kind of do a checks and balances and see that everybody is fully prepared to do the transition. That will be hosted on Tuesday with all the departments and entities impacted for this last portion of the transition, which is our warrants, one of the most important to make sure we can pay everybody. So we'll have that on Tuesday and hopefully we will be able to go live fully transition to PNC and out of JP Morgan by July 20th is the goal. Our treasure system update. There's been notices public made out to the public. They're posted on our website. They're also posted on our windows. We are transitioning to the new treasure system which is Collector Harris. We are currently in a dark period which begins today, goes all the way to July 19th where we are unable to process anything in our systems as they will be extracting the data today. working it so that they can import it into the new system. Then we gotta make sure and check and balances everything that transferred correctly, and then we'll be ready to go live on July 20th and start processing as normal. So we are accepting payments, but they are being held in our office. They will not be processed or reflected in your tax history until July 20th or after. So if you choose to hold your payment until July 20th, we welcome that and we appreciate that. But if you have the urgency to drop off the money or your credit card payment or your checks, do so. We will gladly accept them, but they will not be posted until July 20th or after. And that's it. If there are any changes as we are wrapping up the last minute things for the transition, we're in training July, the week of July 13th, we're also in training with the system providers live here in person. If there are any changes or updates to the go-live date, we will make sure to notify you as well as the public immediately. Any questions?

Thank you, sir. Good question. I know it's too early for that new system, right? You're still working on it, but how do you feel about the new system?

It's a trick question because I'm excited for it, but I'm also very nervous. It's a transition with a lot of data, a lot of information, but we work very closely with them. What gives me peace of mind is that we now have the support for this system in all aspects of it that we didn't have with our current system for all issues that we might have run into. It's a very friendly user system. It communicates more within departments and districts. So a lot of the things will just be sent over internally through the system and processed internally through the system and then sent back to them to avoid kind of that paperwork as well. So it'll be more seamless and a lot better for us. We just have to get through it. Any other questions?

No.

Thank you, sir. Thanks for all you do.

Go ahead.

So you'll be able to work more efficiently with the finance department?

Correct. As an example, like for finance, their journals will be pushed into our system automatically on an hourly basis, and then our system will be processing those journals automatically and pushing them back to their system so they can reconcile. Great.

Mr. Foss, another quick question. Yeah. What other counties use this system, if any?

There is going to be three of us. It'll be us, Navajo, and Graham. And eventually, I'm sure others will jump on to this new system.

Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. Any other departments?

Good morning Chairman Molera, supervisors, county management, members of the board I am here my name is Saida Bustamante with Arizona at Work I'm just here to provide a quick update on the services that we have been providing to the Humane Society Aside from the services that we provide, we also provide what's called rapid response services. This is a funding we receive to support individuals who are being laid off due to closures or permanent closures and services that we provide is training, certifications, job search assistance, assistance with UI claims. We've been to their location three times as of today. We just heard that they're looking for supplies, not mostly donations, but supplies that they use on a daily basis. One of their workers there, we provided services for her to become a veterinary assistant, which she is now, and she's working there now. She'll be able to use that certificate, unfortunately, when and if there is a closure. So we're making sure that they are prepared, they are certified, if in the event that there is a closure, which we're hoping that they're not. but we want to let you all know we want to assure you that we are providing services and that we're not leaving them just for them to figure things out so as we mentioned we're providing job search assistance assistance with unemployment claims and options for them so that is my option that is my update just for the record Mr. Fanning is the chairman I want to thank you because we met like three weeks ago and I really appreciate your work and your work for taking this being proactive and try to alleviate some of the of course thank you so much we care for for them we care as we all we care for the pets and they're doing an amazing job they're an amazing organization as many here in Santa Cruz County so we're trying to do our best thank you really quick I just want to welcome Cesar Lopez who's here with us and you as the board member just welcome nice to see you here

OK. Any other? Come on up, Lieutenant.

Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Supervisors and everybody here, I'm here to provide an update on the situation with the Humane Society and the help that we could provide to them. As I spoke last time in our meeting, we talked about how we could help them in terms of the animals that they have, how to place them, what they still, I believe, to right now they have about 34, 35 animals still at their shelter and so we started putting our minds together and one of our employees came up with this idea to make a pause on the move 5K adoption event. So this is going to be sponsored by the city of Nogales. We're going to have our rescues there. We're going to have animals from our shelter and the animals from the Humane Society. They're going to be our special guests. There's going to be stations with water, everything the animals need, crates to leave animals there for a moment if they need. Once we do this it's going to help hopefully adopt and place these animals that the Humane Society still have and place them to their forever home. Today at the City Council meeting it's going to be approved and again it's been sponsored by them so I don't have any expectations that it's not. That's our number one plan right now to help the Humane Society place these animals that they still have.

Mr. Peña. Mr. Chair. Please. Great idea. If we can possibly, if there's still a lot of animals left over, maybe do another event in Rio Rico. We have beautiful trails there where they can do their 5K run there or walk or whatever.

and also do a secondary event that would be great or even too bad yes you have the onza trail there yeah we will look into that we also have a rescue that is going to be placing all the animals that they have on their network so that we can place them out so that's another thing we're doing yes we'll be doing that thank you for your proactive work sir

So yeah, I adopted a dog from animal control three months ago. It's been a lot of work, but it's been really great for my kids and my family. My family left to Taiwan to visit their family, so I'm taking care of the dog alone. So it's a little bit more intense, but I'm happy. Yeah, I know there's kids. Are we going to have more adoption clinics around the county, right? That's a...

That is our goal, yes.

Absolutely. So, no, I just want to thank you for everything, for this one and the rest, you know, anything that we can help. I really appreciate that. Thanks for coming for that idea, and I really appreciate that.

You're welcome. Thank you. A couple last things. Thank you for adopting.

Can you help me?

I already have two big German Shepherds, so I think I'm good for right now. But I do want to say that if you can't adopt, perhaps donating. So I did not adopt, but I did donate. So just putting it out there, that's an opportunity. The other thing I wanted to ask is during this, I have two crates. We crate our dogs when they were young, or one still, we're using the crate. Would this be a good opportunity to donate the one crate that we have and my son also, I think he's done crating. We have two crates. Would this be an event to just take and donate or would I donate them to you? What do you see happening there?

You can take it up to us and we'll take them to the event. But yeah, any kind of help we get, we'll say always yes. Okay. Yes, definitely. Wonderful.

Mr. Pena. Please. We have four pets, two dogs, two cats. They've all been adopted. I'd like to see if I can trade two of my wife's cats. Don't tell her, Gary. They're divas.

Thank you, sir.

You're welcome. Mr. Payne, something really quick. So I already made my donation. Were you able to see it, and how's that donation button going?

So far, it's done. It's ready, and we can see every donation that will come through, so it's ready.

Okay, thank you very much. Thank you.

I'm sorry? Oh, you mean the Humane Society? I have no idea on that.

I know two weeks ago it was at 18 or 19,000, and I think someone said it jumped way up. I just don't know the figures.

It was last night, and I don't think it was met, but it was close.

Wonderful. Let's keep on working hard. Thank you, sir. You're welcome. I know that Alma?

Good morning, once again, chair and members of the board and members of the public. Thank you for being here. I am Alma Schultz, clerk of the board and elections director. And I just want to remind everyone that election day is July 21st. Our polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Early voting has started June 24th, which is last week on Wednesday. And then I just wanted to mention some voting locations that have changed for election day, just to make sure that everyone is aware. The rec center is no longer a voting location for July 21st. It will be the provisional community college, which is on Grand Avenue. We're hoping that it is more an easier accessible location. And then we're also continuing to use Americana Hotel instead of the VFW for this election as well. I just want to take a moment just to thank our poll workers we actually have two present here thank you for being here I just want to take a moment to thank them because it is a really long day and that we're there and we're we're making sure to do our civil duty and I encourage everyone else to please serve as a poll worker thank you and another thing that I want to also let you know is that to please exercise your right to vote come on out and vote keep us busy we want to be busy we want you to vote and i hope everyone has a spectacular fourth of july thank you

Thank you, Alma. Hold on. Alma, a couple questions or statements first. No, go ahead.

No, no, I just want to thank you. I've seen you working so hard these days, and I hope you're getting a little bit of sleep. So thank you, and thanks to everyone that is making this possible.

Of course.

And I just want to let everyone know the Provisional Community College is located right behind Walgreens.

2021 North Crown Avenue.

There you go. And then lastly,

what's right across the courtyard right here it is early voting which has started June 24th and it will end on so it's early voting in person okay and it ends on July 17th at 7 p.m. okay and after this meeting anyone can go over there and vote once again exercise your right to vote

I did right here last Tuesday, and I will let you know it was seamless. It was very easy. So thank you to Alma. Thank you to the Recorder's Office.

Yes, we are a really great team. And we always work together to making sure that everyone has that right. Thank you, Ms. Alma.

Thank you, Alma. Thank you, staff.

You bet. Any other departments wishing to report?

OK.

Hearing none, we will move to F, flood control. At this time, I'd like to entertain a motion to recess regular session to move into flood control. So moved.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Passes unanimously. Allen. Hello, Chairman. Where's this rain?

Hello, Chairman Fanning, Vice Chair of Davis, Supervisor Mullera. Morning, sir Hopefully the monsoon will be on the way There are some predictions for early next week, but they're pretty low We did receive some rain in June pretty much the normal rainfall Countywide about a half an inch The Nogales wash Had 0.45 inch and Peck Canyon received 2.4 So, you know a big difference between those two locations basically based on, you know, thunder thunderstorm activity The overall severity of the drought in in the county has remained steady Santa Cruz County is categorized as a d1 moderate drought in the southwest a D zero abnormally dry in the middle and no drought in the eastern side of the county which is kind of been the what's been going on for the last few months but I did want to point out that we are still in a long-term drought conditions of extreme drought and that's that's something that's looked at over the last six years and this last drought pretty much started in the 90s Okay, so that's it for rainfall. Dillow Housekeeping, the Flood Control District received 177 flood hazard information sheet requests, flood reviews. 154 of those were in Santa Cruz, unincorporated Santa Cruz County, 22 in Nogales, and one in Patagonia. The Flood Control District received nine flood planning use permit applications, eight of them in unincorporated Santa Cruz County, and one in Nogales. The district also received three drainage complaints in June. Moving on to projects. Patagonia Regional Flood Control Project. The contract for the completion of phase two has been approved and notice to proceed is to go out this week. The consultant is preparing a kickoff meeting to set the schedule and begin phase two. Potlato Creek letter of map revision the letter map revision has become effective as of June 4th the updated flood map is on FEMA's website as along with the current effective so you can kind of look at the comparison and we did put it on our DFIRM flood map which is on our web page so you can see that change Nogales downtown redevelopment floodplain feasibility that study has been completed and basically that's looking at Elevations and some of the things that some of the downtown area might be able to do in order to get some Some new improvements on their buildings one of the things I was thinking is that I would put that that study on on our webpage so the public can look at it and Moving on to Monte Carlo. The Monte Carlo study has been Completed and basically it's looking at Trying to assess some of the flood issues in the Monte Carlo area We did get a pretty good storm through there last September and there was quite a bit of flooding that happened Within the streets and some of the drainage easements through there Supervisor Davis and County Manager Valdez asked me to look at some alternatives for Some for some particular individuals there in the area basically we're looking at doing some sort of floodgates that sort of thing to prevent some of the water from coming out of the Roadways in into their properties So I did meet with a couple of different individuals out there to kind of assess that information. And I did find a company, Garrison Flood, a company that does have floodgates that are automatic. They also have a type of floodgate that you have to place, and then also some sandbags that basically expand with water. Some of the issues that we have there are some of the folks don't have the ability to actually set sandbags to keep water out. So that's why we're looking at some of the automatic floodgates. And looking at some of the pricing, I think it would fit within what we're kind of considering as our budget for those sort of things. I was also thinking that maybe perhaps Monte Carlo may be an area where we could look at maybe a community assistant grant, something like that. And so those folks that have the ability to apply for grant funding, it's just an idea. I'm still kind of looking into it. But just to try to provide some sort of mechanism for paying for some of these things. So that's Monte Carlo. We're still looking at alternatives as far as like an overall flood control through there. Our consultant is looking at that sort of information as well. So that's it for the projects. The town of Patagonia did submit a report and it's attached. The city of Nogales did not. So that's all I have for today. Does anybody have any questions?

Supervisor Muller?

At this time I'd like to entertain a motion to exit flood control And enter into item G public public hearing Second it's been moved and seconded any further discussion

Hearing none, all those in favor please signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries unanimously. Prior to starting this, I was part of the Santa Cruz County Provisional Community College District. prior to being elected to the board. And we did move forward with an expenditure limit increase. It did move to the ballot, and it was passed. And I'm very anxious. I know that Jay had some questions during his call to the public. And I'm hoping that all of those questions will be answered today by our presenters, and that we can move forward perhaps next week with a little bit more discussion. on this but how this will work is I will ask Mauricio and Brandon if you will come up to the podium. They have a presentation. I would like to ask if you would hold your questions until the end. Unless it is a pressing question that because it may be answered during that time frame You know prior to coming to the end of the presentation and Marisa I'll let you introduce Brandon or Brandon you can introduce yourself when you get up there please don't don't think that I've forgotten I know that there's quite a few people that would like to speak on the expenditure limit increase so once once this is over you'll have an opportunity for sure sir good morning mr. chairman members of the board county officials and members of the public thank you for being here in this important topic that we want to discuss today

I have here Brandon Nee. He's a consultant that we used here for county assistance as well. His resume includes he's been working under three administrations for a governor for the state of Arizona and currently works for the County Supervisors Association, the association that we lean on for advocacy and lobbying efforts on behalf of the state. We can start the presentation, please.

Thank you.

Okay. Again, thank you. My name is Mauricio Chavez. I'm the Deputy County Manager for Santa Cruz County. And this is the presentation that we've been working on for quite some time now. It's extensive. It provides a lot of information. It explains the history of the expenditure limit, where the county sits. and what happens if we move forward with passing the measure and what happens if we don't pass the measure. Next slide, please. Mr. Chair, members of the board, members of the public, a little history on the annual expenditure limitation. It was a measure that was approved back in 1980 for the whole state of Arizona. What it does, it limits the expenditures that every county has. So every 15 of the counties are based on population. It's a formula based on population growth. It's also based on inflation that will give us our annual spending limit. This is not new revenue, and it's not creating any new taxes. It doesn't raise property taxes. It doesn't create any tax rates or any sales tax or any of that sort. Next slide, please. How does it sit for us? Where are we at as a county? So it affects all 15 counties. For us, for example, if you see on the left-hand side, you'll see our base limit the one that's in orange which is listed about 2.3 million that is our base spending limit back in 1979-80 that those were the expenditures of Santa Cruz County back at that time so that limit stays fixed for you know year after year after year that limit always stays fixed the amounts that change are the base population of the population and then the population factor so it's a division of our population that was used back in 1978 was 19,500 and it's based on our current population that we are using right now through the census now you see a little number that's a little bit larger there you see 66,000 where do we have 66,000 people in Santa Cruz County for border counties there's an exception that we include a small percentage of the folks that are crossing back and forth from Mexico So that's also included in that, that's why you'll see a little bit larger number of that. So once you get the 66,000 and the 19,000, it gives you a population factor. So that population factor is the 3.4101. And then the inflation factor next to that, the 3.86, that one is determined by the state of Arizona and it applies to all counties pretty much straightforward to all of them they don't take into consideration what happens here in Santa Cruz County so it's applicable to all counties you get those two numbers and then you multiply it times our base limit now recall that base limit at 2.3 million that's the base limit that was used those were our expenses back in 79-80 Things were a lot smaller, things were a lot simpler. So it gives you that formula and it gives you that amount of 30 million, 30.4 million. So that's our expected expenditure limit for FY27. So the fiscal year that started today, that's our expenditure limit for 30 million. Next slide, please. So what is the expenditure limit? What drives that? What revenues drive that? So our local revenues, anything that's local, anything that the county receives that are considered local revenues. Local sales tax, our state shared sales tax distribution, our property tax. vehicle tax and then our other funds like licenses permits fees that includes environmental health and includes animal control that includes the courts all the fees that come in that's also part of the expenditure limit that's taken into account next slide please What's not included? We have some items that we can exclude. Any type of grants, so that would be federal, state, or tribal grants are excluded. Any enterprise funds, our only enterprise fund that we have in our county is the landfill, so those are excluded as well. And any type of IGA contracts with either the city of Nogales, town of Patagonia, or anything of that sort, that's excluded as well. Any type of investment income, when we read off the cash and investment report, that interest that's there, that's also excludable. And any debt service proceeds as well.

Next slide please.

We can also subtract some expenses from that whole formula to that amount. Any debt service payments, any payments that we make to create debt in order to not be part of the expenditure limit that means that we can take out loans we can lease equipment or lease vehicles that's also excluded any type of districts we have two our jail district and our flood control district that's excludable and then our medicaid and access or all tax payments which is a large amount that we currently have to pay that's also excludable next slide please Do we have any questions, Mr. Chairman, members of the board before I'm going to pass this slide over to Brandon so he can give details on that.

Real quick, what happens if you go over the expenditure limit?

That's a great question. If we go over the expenditure limit, let's just say hypothetically we go over the expenditure limit a million dollars. The following fiscal year, we're penalized, so we have to reduce our maximum levy amount by the amount that we go over. So in my example, we would have to lower our levy limit by a million dollars.

just a quick question you mentioned that because of the influx of population going back and forth at the border it our population in 2025 was 66 000 on this sheet what is our current population not including

Not including that, and it depends on what tracking system you use, but it's no more than 50,000. So that gap is the floating population, and that's not a realistic gap because you don't see 16,000 folks here. You probably see more, but the formula that's used by the state allows for that amount. Thank you, sir.

Mr. Chavez, so the last time this expenditure limit was approved was 1980, correct?

This was originally approved by the voters of Arizona to limit all 15 counties from exceeding those expense limits, that is correct. And it's based on formula that was used back in 1980.

Okay, well that's it.

So I'll pass it on to Brandon so he can explain the survey that was conducted on behalf of the county.

Thank You Mauricio so we still get into this in a few moments about kind of where the county's at in terms of its expenditure limit and in the capacity there but as the county approaches the expenditure limit year in and year out one thing that the county was interested in understanding is what's the public sentiment around the existing expenditure limit as well as the allowable adjustment that can be made to that set base limit and so to do that a survey was conducted with 366 registered voters in Santa Cruz those voters are representative of the community so in terms of political affiliation demographics and they also were spread across all three of the county districts the survey had sort of different parts so so that we could understand what the public what the voters knew about the expenditure limit and how education and things like that changed sentiments initial support without any education information or opposition opposition arguments was close to 70% in favor of an adjustment once there was information provided about an explanation of the history and how the expenditure limit works, that public sentiment grew to, or that voter sentiment grew to almost 80%. there then were opposition arguments provided and those spanned both local for instance some of the fiscal management issues that have happened more locally in this county as well as things that have been used in other expenditure limit arguments across the state as we've watched about half the counties do adjustments already those kind of look more like know the idea that this will create additional government spending or that would lead directly to tax increases so once those arguments were provided the public sentiment still was above 70 the other thing that was that we tried to understand in the survey were just some of the components of county services that folks were most interested in and so 82% of voters saw a need for additional county funding in some at least one area of county government and you'll see some of the things that drove the most support there on your left So maintaining or even increasing the investment in accountability and transparency, as well as roads and infrastructure. There was also a strong sentiment around maintaining local control of local revenues, as well as what we talked about already, the idea that the public is not interested in tax rates changing as a result of this. the key takeaway here is the the survey results provided a a strong support sentiment if the an expenditure limit adjustment is referred to the ballot as long as that is done under the guise of optimizing and maintaining services without increases in tax rates so that'll turn it back over to mauricio

Thank you, Brandon. Mr. Chair, members of the board, do you have any comments on that particular slide? Next slide, please. so the county will be in that predicament of not being able to um have that that that hit that that spending limit so what are the solutions the recommendation is to request a permanent base adjustment so what does that mean that's why we're here before the board we have two scheduled public hearings one scheduled you know the one today and of course the next one the following week on july 8th Two thirds have to be approved by the board in order to send it to the ballot. And it must be approved by the voters. So if this moves on forward, then it'll be on the November ballot on the general election. There's no limit to the amount of the increase that any county can request. It's all based on a financial analysis that has been done. And then that analysis must be approved by the auditor general. So there's a timeline regarding that when I would have to send that in if the board decides to move forward. And if the measure is moving forward and it is successful, then it'll be effective the following fiscal year in FY28. So today we started FY27 on July 1st. We fast forward a whole year in FY28, that would be July 1st of 2027 that it would start. Next slide, please. This is a really important slide. It tells the story of the gap that we're going to be facing if we keep the expenditure limit at the rate that we have. So if you look at the blue line at the bottom, you see on the left, that's the $30 million. That's what the state is indicating that that's our expenditure limit for this fiscal year. Our average of growth on the expenditure limit based on that inflation factor, based on that population factor, and based on that base amount of 2.3 million that was back in the 1980s, it's averaging at a growth of 3.5%. So if I take that 3.5%, that's the growth that I'm going to see the expenditure limit go up fiscal year after fiscal year for the next 15 years. The green line, that's the forecast of expenditures. Traditionally, counties are faced with about a 6% increase in expenditures year after year. That includes inflation, the cost of goods, everything becomes more expensive, there's more need for different requirements that the state might put on the courts, might put on the sheriff's department that we figured that that's going to be a 6% increase throughout that 15 year span. So the pink area or the gray, that's the gap. That's what we're going to be over if we continue with our current expenditure limit. So in year Today, the year that we're starting FY27, we're pretty much at the same expenditure limit right now. So it's not an issue, but it'll become an issue in the coming years. So by year, for example, five, or by year 15, our gap is going to be about $20 million. Mr. Chair, members of the board, any questions on this slide?

Yes, I have a question. we're talking expenditures and you know we have South 32 developing and and it's probably gonna go into full construction here in a year or so what is that gonna do to our Revenues.

Chairman, members of the board, members of the public. So new industries are going to be coming into Santa Cruz County. Not just that particular industry, but a lot of industries that attach, that includes retail, that includes restaurants. It's just going to be a magnitude. So we're projecting that there's going to be this influx of funds that are coming into the county. Those are new revenues. When those new revenues come in, we would not have the authority to spend it based on the current expenditure limit that we have and the analysis that we conducted.

So anything beyond those 30 million we will not be able to spend? Correct. Okay.

Just one thing I was going to add to that. One thing you're highlighting there too is the overly simple nature of the formula right it doesn't consider anything except population growth a really broad inflation factor. So it doesn't allow for an event in any industry where there's a significant change by one or a number of companies or an entire industry coming into a county and sort of changing revenues, population, any of that kind of stuff. And so the expenditures on here are really just taking what you're doing today envisioning how what you're doing already and the size of what's here is going to just necessarily grow into the future and not what's going to sort of stack on top of that which will just make things worse okay so this doesn't include the possibility of this is just our average if we stay as is okay thank you next slide please

So Brandon touched a little bit right now on the formula. How do we get to that $30 million? On your right-hand side, you see in green, and we touched about it a little bit on the second slide, it's the $2.3 million, that's our base amount, those were our expenses back in 79-80. you multiply it times our population factor and then times the inflation factor and it gives us that 30.4 million. That's the one that we're living right now in FY27. So based on the analysis that we've done, the request would be to increase the base amount for 1.5 million. So adding to that 2.3 that was passed in 1979-80, adding the 1.5, using the same population factor, the same inflation factor, that gives us almost an additional 20 million of expenditure capacity. That's all it does. gives a new number of 50 million so on the left you see the formula of the 30 million the request of raising 1.5 to the base amount of 2.3 gives the county the ability to have a limit higher again this is not a tax increase this will not increase tax rates it will not create any new taxes or impose any type of fees it only adjusts the authority of what the board can spend Next slide, please. So why are we discussing this now? Supervisors mentioned that we're going to have new industries here. That's going to raise our property taxes. It's going to increase our revenues. Our sales taxes also have been increasing. because of the same trend. We've seen a lot of new folks here, new industries already, they're spending more money locally. So our sales tax have average increased about seven, a little bit over 7%. If we keep our seven and a half per year of expenditure limit increase, that's where that curve also puts us in a lot of trouble. county's operating costs and revenues have been growing faster than what the formula of population and inflation have kept up with so it's an old formula that was voted back in 1979-80 that's keeping us from being able to move forward next slide please On the left-hand side, you see when this was passed back in 1980 by the voters in Arizona, well, our county had a smaller population. We had limited technology. We probably didn't have any cybersecurity needs, Juan, right? And then no AI. Our election systems were manually controlled and then there was less demand for infrastructure. But we fast forward these years now and it's a whole different need now. And the need is different. Some is based on for liability issues, some is based on safety issues, and some is statutorily required now. We have to do X, we have to do Y. The Sheriff's Department now has laptops in their vehicles. They never had laptops back in 1980. Now they have body cams. That was a thing that was never existed. So all that increases the need for spending and storage and for cybersecurity. And all those that you see on the side there, now election security requirements have gone skyrocketed. And Alma, you can attest to that. The state probably has new requirements for you every election. There's a need now for emergency management systems that wasn't, you know, in the past. Infrastructure maintenance and growth. Modern detention and public health standards. Another jail district that we have is very, very different than the one that's on Hohokam. So the needs are a lot higher for that jail that we need to keep up with. And, of course, our cross-border service demands. We're at the border. We provide a lot of services to the folks that, you know, thankfully legally cross over here and provide us a lot of tax revenue for us. Any questions, Mr. Chairman, members of the board? Next slide, please. So at a glance, what does that do? Well, based on the assessment that we did, our request is a $1.5 million adjustment to the base amount. That's what we want to do. We figure that that's going to last for the next 15 to 20 years. I don't want the county to be in a situation the following year or in five years or after I'm gone that we don't have the capacity. We want to leave the county in a good fiscal situation that there's room for growth for the next 20 years. Is this a tax increase? It's not. I think that I can't stress that enough. It doesn't increase property taxes, it will not increase any sales taxes, it doesn't create any new fees, and it does not automatically increase any taxes whatsoever. Would the county immediately spend increase in spending? And the answer again is no. okay spending is within the adjusted limit only and the county still needs to go through its budget approval process through a public process that's approved by the board that doesn't change that next question next slide please So those are the two scenarios. What happens if voters approve and what happens if voters do not approve? So if the voters approve on the left-hand side, then we adjust the permanent base. That $2.3 million amount, we'll raise it another $1.5 million. That would be the request. And our expenditures would be permanently updated. So year after year after year, it'll be that $2.3 million. calculation of that formula it'll be used with the new base amount spending remains subject to available revenues the board wouldn't be able to spend any revenues unless the revenues come in it's still the same process it's still under public review and public meetings for budgets it'll give the county greater flexibility to meet future service demands What happens if the voters do not approve? Then the current formula remains, and it's a formula that was established back in 1979-80. Our future expenditures would be limited based on that existing base. Revenue growth will probably outpace the expenditure authority. And then budget flexibility becomes constrained over time. We would have a challenge to meet the service demands or demands period equipment demands that we are having today and then we raise this point and Mr. Chair you asked that question what what penalty would that be and any excess of spending that we do we'll go back to my one million dollar example then the following year our property tax levy amount would have to be reduced by that amount. Next slide please. if approved the increase would provide additional expenditure authority to the board to optimize existing county services and investment investments in capital projects that may include and i'll go over each one it may include public safety emergency preparedness initiatives so that's a broad thing and i get you know we we had a question or a comment right now that everything is so broad but all these are going to be linear once this measure is successful and we can determine it still goes through the process of the board determining and prioritizing but the public safety and emergency that is a very important one sheriff's department needs to be able to have the latest equipment the latest technology in order to provide services to the constituents that are expected keep everyone safe road resurfacing and bridge enhancement gives us that opportunity to start improving and continue and improve on those water sustainability preservation conservation and efficiency program I heard a lot of comments on the importance of water you know we live in desert that's important I do understand that and I think earmark some of those funds for for important programs like that it's crucial preservation that goes hand in hand preservation restoration investments in the Santa Cruz River and then also we've seen that a lot too future animal control facilities our facilities are outdated we'll say you know that you come to me not you know every every other week and you know with with with issues and we understand that but this would give us that opportunity to pursue what we wanted to do in last year And then tourism initiatives including parks, walking trails and taking care of our heritage areas is important. affordable housing studies and planning efforts and education on workforce development programs i know that you know our school superintendent was adamant we have to put that forth also maya thank you for that that input and that's you know it's it's something that's important to the community as well any questions uh mr chairman members of the board on any of these bubbles here

not question just comment much of the and please understand that this is not an end-all be-all example of what it could be spent on I think as this county grows and as as we move forward with the comprehensive plan I think our mission and vision is going to become evident and And much, I come from the world of education, I know I've said that quite often, and it's based on need and it's based on everything that happens within a county, within a school district, within a city. has to come back to mission and vision. What is the mission and what is the vision? And what are the goals to get there? And I think the eight or more categories that you have up there, I think, are a good start. But as we move forward with a comprehensive plan, as we move forward with the, you know, what is our mission, what is our vision, I think it's going to become a lot more evident what needs to be spent. And, excuse me, what... what we need to spend that on, those excess funds.

And these aren't in stone. This is why we're having community input. That way we receive your input and see what you all want. which is really critical I think this board prides itself in transparency and working with our community and and we want to continue that relationship we've established

Mr. Trout, just really quick. So if the suspension limit passes, some of these services that, like for example, we have eight services there, they would apply for all districts, right? One, two, and three?

That is correct Mr. Chairman, members of the board. This is a countywide measure.

We can't include District 1.

I want to make sure that District 1 is included.

Just kidding, just kidding. I'll back you up. It's all three districts that are going to be included.

Absolutely.

Next slide, please. So conversely, what would happen if the measure is not approved by the voters? Well, our base remains unchanged. So that $2.3 million base from back in 79-80 will remain the same. It will limit our spending authority, so the revenues are going to be coming in regardless. We are not going to be able to spend. Our limited spending authority remains the same. That will create challenges to provide service delivery. We will have some fiscal constraints. It may reduce. or be forced to delay or limit services that we currently provide. It may delay any type of capital projects or infrastructure investments that may be postponed. And it becomes long-term planning very challenging. So anytime we do the budget and we just finished implementing, we just closed the fiscal year, and it becomes a challenge to balance that out if you don't know what's going to be coming or expecting to be coming.

Real quick, Maria, can you move back one slide? I just have one more comment about that slide. If you notice up in the top sentence there, I want everyone to remember optimize, the word optimize, because I'm going to, at the very end of this session, I'm going to read something, and optimize is a huge part of that. Thank you. If you'd like to move forward, thank you.

Next slide, please. So if you go back to the graph that showed that gap, this is just the same information but in different chunks, categorized in block of fiscal years. What does that mean? We're projecting that by year fiscal 3031, we're going to have a $3.5 million gap. By year 34, it's going to be $7 million. Up to year 2041, it'll be that $20 million that we saw on the curve. Without a permanent base adjustment, projected expenditures are expected to exceed our spending authority by $20 million within 15 years. So we want to leave the county, we want to leave it in a good position that that's not an issue for the next 20 years. Next slide, please. So to summarize, the recommended and the request would be to increase the base amount for one and a half million from the existing base of 2.3 and that would start in FY28. It will have a long term capacity, now this is key, long term capacity for the next 20 years. We anticipate that the county will be in a good position. And this is not new with other counties. Majority of the counties have been successful. Apache, Coconino, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Navajo, and Yavapai have already adjusted and passed, their voters have passed the expenditure limit. And currently, Pima and Yuma are considering it. And I just found out yesterday, which are based on the research, so it didn't exist, also Graham is going to consider it for this year. So it's three, and perhaps if the board votes it, then it will be Santa Cruz as well. Oversight and accountability, I know the survey indicated about that was one of their concerns. The board has adopted new safeguards to enhance transparency and accountability. The board has hired a CPA firm to oversee the treasurer's office on a monthly basis and provide reports independent of everything else. We have a new audit firm auditing our financials. and we also conducted a review of any all departments that handle cash any other departments that have cash handling so the county would still continue to adopt a balanced budget each year through a public hearing process and board approval that doesn't change that regardless if that ceiling goes up the public will still have input and the board will hear that input and make the appropriate decisions on those budget items And I want to reiterate again, this is not a new tax where it will not increase any tax rates at all. Next slide, please. so my my final slide presentation is the key reminders of what this measure is it adjusts the county's expenditure base that 2.3 million our recommended amount is to raise it by one and a half million so it'll give us that that capacity it still maintains annual budget oversight with public input that doesn't change that and it requires a balanced budget So yesterday when we had to close our fiscal year that means that we have to convert all the negative cash balances into positives and we have to use our existing funds that we have with the new budget year as well otherwise we would not have a structurally balanced budget but I'm happy to say that we were successful yesterday in closing our year with help from finance staff which they did an amazing job because they prepared I think probably about months before right and we started working every day on that and then the treasurer's office was excellent too and their staff because we work really really closely with them And I'm happy to report that for next week that I'll present the budget, it'll be structurally balanced. So what it does not do, it does not increase any tax rates, and it does not authorize any spending beyond available revenues that will be coming in. And to Supervisor Davis's point, it will include all three districts. And I made a point to put it there on the last slide so it will stick there. Mr. Chairman, members of the board, unless Brandon has anything to add.

I was just going to add for the sake of if it helps because this is a weird thing, it's complicated. one of the things that's challenging to understand is um how this works and it's the name is misleading it's an expenditure limit but the way that this calculation actually works it qualifies revenues that come in and it says only so many each year qualify to be spent and so you're really talking about is hitting a point in time where all of a sudden you have more revenue now coming in than you're even allowed to use and when he starts talking into the future about these funding gaps the expectation is the revenue will be there to to actually pay for all that stuff what's happening is less and less revenue each year is allowed to be used and so you're doing when you set the a new bar is you're hopefully setting it high enough where it's well above any revenues that will be coming in in the foreseeable future and so there's no longer kind of a limitation from that end and you get back to as mauricio was talking about your regular budget conversation about what resources are coming in what do we want to spend things on and you don't just have um this calculation deciding your budget for you is really what starts to happen over time. So I'll leave that with you.

Thank you.

I just want to thank you, Mauricio. Thank you, Brendan, for the detailed report. We really appreciate it. And it's just really foreseeing the future. I think it's really critical. that I personally feel that we need to move forward to allow the opportunity to spend the money we have at hand and not lock us And this board, I believe, has committed to dropping the tax rate the next three years. So we are providing relief, and we will hopefully continue to provide relief to the taxpayers.

Mr. Chairman, members of the board, members of the community, the budget that I'm going to be presenting next week to the board and to the public does include that 3% or 3 cent decrease that you requested. So yes, going to what you indicated, what you were envisioning is a four-year process of 3 cents each year. That includes that, and I was able to balance it with that. That is correct.

Vice Chair.

Yeah, so basically if the expenditure limit passes or not, right, the revenue will come in. The only thing is that it's going to be there. We're going to be able to use it, or you're just going to be sitting there, correct? Correct.

Mr. Chairman members of the board the needs are gonna be there right and the new requirements by the state for the Elections Department for the Sheriff's Department for the courts I know that the courts ever so often they have to remodel their courtrooms and that's a state mandate so those are increases in expenses that we have to account for That will make it difficult if we don't have that spending capacity.

Unfunded mandates?

Always from the correct. We have to be creative about how we pay it.

don't have any questions at this time I do have a statement at the end but I'll wait but at this time I'm going to go ahead and move forward if the speaker slips and it is not limited to just the folks who have filled this out if you once I conclude with the with these slips anyone else who would like to get up and ask a question that would be found fine I do ask that we keep our comments and or questions to the three-minute limit that we would have normally in the call to the public so with that mr. Castaneda if you could okay if you sounds good thank you sir dr. Vanis And once again, if you could state your name and your address, that would be greatly appreciated.

Can you hear me now? Yes. Okay, great. Hi, I'm Dr. Mary Vanis. I live at 13 Western Saddle Court in Tubac, 85646. And by the way, it's a District 3 in case anybody's interested.

That's where we spend all our money in District 3.

i just had to say that anyway um i'm here actually as president of the santa cruz valley citizens council and so the remarks i make are on behalf of our council the citizens council represents the northwest eric character area and i want to emphasize it's tubac it's tumacakari it's carmen and it's a model And I'd just like to recognize we have a lot of people in our audience from our community and also from our board, if you guys could at least wave for everybody from our... So you can tell that this is an interest of all of us. We have been actively engaged with the county, with Mr. Young, on the updating of the comprehensive plan. And I will share that that's really what is informing our comments to you today. I have recognized our board members. I want to share that our main priority for attending this meeting and our presence here is to inform you that we support your putting this measure on the ballot for our voters to consider. Our hope is that the purposes stated for the measure reflect what matters most to our communities so that whatever the voters decide, and of course that's their decision, those priorities are on the table and they can consider it. We're very pleased from your presentation that we saw water, the conservation, and Santa Cruz River on there, and that's as part of the potential uses of this increase in funds. and obviously those are central to our community, and we support your doing that. In addition, our hope is that within those stated infrastructure priorities, that that will include, and not just assume, but making sure that it includes sewer, roads, and technology infrastructure. which will help us ensure the vitality of our communities that you all serve. And so with that, what I'd like to do is introduce Dennis Eshelman, if you don't mind. He's next on my list. Well, he's next on my list, too. So thank you, both Chairman Fanning and members of the board. I'd like to introduce Dennis Eshelman. He is the chairperson of our area planning committee, which is a standing committee of the Citizens Council. So he speaks on behalf of our council. So thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. Thank you.

Thank you, Mary, and good morning, Chairman, members of the board, staff. I'm Dennis Eshelman, 39 Sierra Vista Lane in Tubac. As Mary said, I'm chair of the Area Plan Committee, which is a standing committee of the Santa Cruz Valley Citizens Council. We're a group of 14 citizens, and quite a few are here today. recently we've been focused on the on the comprehensive plan and our committee has spent a lot of time studying the Northwest character areas priorities across the four areas that you've set up as the the attack meeting subjects water natural resources land use and community character and heritage We have tried to ground our work in solid sources and to bring organized local input into the plan early. On this measure we're discussing today, our ask is simple. The purposes that you've listed are very much priorities. Water sustainability and conservation. Water quality, I think that's included. But that's certainly a focus. Preservation and restoration along the Santa Cruz River, extremely important. It captures much of our priorities and we support them. We ask that the stated purposes also name the preservation of our cultural and historic resources, which as you know we have a lot in our area. And that's really the whole of it. We're just asking that you continue to focus on those priorities. We're not asking you to choose our priorities over anyone else's or take a position on certainly the amount. We're asking that if this goes to the voters, that cultural and historical preservation is named also as one of the purposes. And with that, I'd like to hopefully introduce Nan Fitzpatrick, and she'll speak.

She's next on my list. And just to let you know, you mentioned the four areas that you represent, Tubac, Tumacácori, Carmen, and Amado, and I think it would be safe to say that think your priorities and your focuses are consistent with much of the county's absolutely right absolutely yeah makes sense

I'm kind of short. Can you hear me? You betcha. Okay. Good morning. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. My name is Nan Fitzpatrick, and I live at 6 Bedoya Court in Tubac, and I'm the chair of the Tubac Historic Zone Advisory Board, and that's part of the reason I'm here. I was pleased to learn yesterday that the county will include preservation of historic areas in its list of authorized expenditures. I want to encourage all of you to actively support that good decision, not only because it makes great sense from an economic standpoint, but also because it honors some of our county's most significant heritage attributes. Those of course include the Presidio, the Chumacácori Mission, and the Anza Trail. These places draw visitors who stay, eat, and spend money. The state and the National Park Service steward these landmarks, but the part that is squarely in the county's responsibility is the historic character of the villages around them, the setting and the local planning that protects it. Supporting the preservation of cultural and historic resources would also make possible a county-commissioned Tubac Village Master Plan, a roadmap, if you will, to protect the historic fabric of the village. This is the kind of place-based planning the county recently did for the Sonoyta-Elgin area. It is also exactly the sort of work that is essential to planning and providing for a healthy future for southern Arizona. Also, as you are well aware, economic resilience is dependent on many factors, including constructive, imaginative, visionary planning. And unlike most public investments, heritage cannot be rebuilt if it's lost. So thank you for adding this to your list of funding priorities and for listening to your citizens. And I do have a question, if I can ask it here. Please. How often can the permanent base be adjusted in the future? Because to me, listening to the $1.5 million increase in that sounded, for a 20-year period of time, sounded like it might be a little low. So is there a legal way to adjust that more often than every 20 years?

You can do it, I think, every two years at an election. It's just the... Planning and all that goes into it is what makes it challenging. I think it was Greenlee County that has done it twice. There are a number of counties that have already done it once, like Maricopa, who are already up against it again. And so that that decision goes into or that weighs in the decision about how much You raise the limit what you're actually changing is the original base. So, the 1 and a half is a change on the original. 2Million in some change 1980 base, and then that 1 and a half goes through the same growth formula that Mauricio went through earlier. So it actually takes what now is about a $30 million limit on revenue spending and puts it more like 50. So if that's helpful to you.

Okay. Yes. Thank you very much. Point taken. Okay. Thanks a lot.

Thank you, Neal. Dan?

Thank you. Dan Dellen just two back and welcome everyone. I'm not familiar with that law in 1978 but it seems to me like it was intended to be a check and balance and one of the things I didn't hear was the purpose and intent of that law so people understand what it was all about. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems to have been an effort to avoid counties exceeding their debt and going into default. Am I correct in that regard? That explains the need for this sort of thing. They don't want us to overspend, go into debt, go into default, and it becomes a whole other issue. Thank you. The other question you did answer is there have been multiple counties that have done this and they've been successful. It would be nice to see an example of that presented to us, and then we could have said, oh, that's great. It sounds like a really good thing. I really appreciate the effort you guys are going to. And the elephant in the room, the question that has not been answered, the money that does come in that cannot be spent, no one has said where that money goes. Does it just sit there in an interest-bearing account? Can you spend the interest? What actually happens to that money? Because it could be a lot of money.

Mr. Chairman, members of the board, the money that would come in if this measure doesn't pass would sit there in a bank account. It can earn interest, but we would not be allowed to go over our expenditure limit. So in essence, the answer, yes, it would just sit there.

Well, thank you very much for that. That clarifies the things that I needed answered. Very supportive of the effort. Good luck to us all. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. That is correct. Any further comments?

Okay. Hearing none, I'm going to read a statement here that I put together with the assistance of Colin and Jesus. We talked about this when it was myself, Jesus, Colin, and Juan. on the way back from Hermosillo. This took up the majority of that two or three hour drive that we made. And I put our discussion into narrative, so if you'll allow me. Minimum is not optimum. County government is responsible for services that affect people every day, public safety, roads, emergency preparedness, water planning, parks, animal control, community development, and many others. The state of Arizona establishes minimum requirements for many of these services. Those minimum standards provide an important foundation, but minimum is not optimum. Meeting the minimum should be the floor, not the ceiling, for what we seek to provide our residents and businesses. Santa Cruz County's charge is to constantly work toward effective, dependable, and modern services for every community in the county. Our constitutional expenditure limit is still based on what Santa Cruz County spent in fiscal year 1979-80. Although the formula includes overly simple adjustments for inflation and population, the underlying base remains tied to spending decisions, service expectations, and infrastructure made more than four decades ago. Think about how different the world was in 1980. The Soviet Union was still in power. The Berlin Wall divided East and West. The United States celebrated the miracle on ice. space shuttle columbia had not yet made its first flight there were no smartphones public internet cloud-based government systems or modern cyber security requirements today santa cruz county is expected to operate a modern organization in 2026 with an economy driving higher prices for materials a competitive labor market driving the cost to recruit and retain staff and service delivery expectations that now leverage computers cell phones and artificial intelligence Seeking a reasonable increase is not just prudent. Failing to address an outdated limitation would be irresponsible. It would transfer the county's ability to plan ahead, maintain essential infrastructure, respond to emergencies, modernize services, and make responsible use of available revenues to an outdated formula deteriorating constituent services that will threaten the legal minimum. This is about local responsibility. It is about giving Santa Cruz County local control to meet today's needs and prepare for tomorrow's challenges. The state establishes the minimum. Our residents deserve for us to work towards the optimum. Minimum is not optimum. Santa Cruz County can and should set the bar. This effort should not only be about striving for optimum services and infrastructure, but also about ensuring that our priorities reflect the needs that matter most to the board and to the constituents they represent. A modern and responsible approach requires us to listen carefully to community feedback, understand the issues residents are raising, and use that information to help shape county priorities. From there, the board can establish clear mission, strategic goals, and policy direction that guide how departments plan, budget, and deliver services. This creates an opportunity to move toward a priority-based budgeting model. in which available resources are aligned with the county's most important goals rather than simply maintaining services at a minimum level. Departments would then be better positioned to focus their work, justify their needs, measure progress, and contribute directly to the outcomes identified by the board. In that sense, increasing flexibility under the expenditure limit is not just about spending capacity. It is about constant improvement to the county's ability to plan strategically, invest responsibly, and align resources with the expectations of our residents. Minimum is not optimum, and optimum should be defined by thoughtful leadership, community input, and clear priorities by Santa Cruz County, its communities, and its constituents. And that's that. Thank you. And if there are no other comments or no further discussion, we are going to move forward with our board meeting. Thank you. At this time, I will, we're going to, I'll entertain a motion to exit the hearing and move into the jail district. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries unanimously. We are now in Jail District H. Number one, discussion possible action for authorization to fill vacant detention corporal position. And this was requested by the sheriff.

Move to approve.

There's been a motion to approve. Second. Okay, motion and seconded discussion. Is this a budgeted item?

Mr. Chairman, members of the board, this item will be included in the tentative budget that I will present next week, but it is part of that budget.

Thank you, sir. With that said, we'll move forward with the vote. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries unanimously. Number two, discussion possible action to approve renewal letter with advanced correctional health care incorporated for a 5.82% contract price increase for medical services for FY 2026-27 in the estimated annual amount of $940,296.13. Do I have a motion?

Move to approve.

Second.

Okay, it's been moved and seconded. Discussion? Budgeted?

Mr. Chairman, members of the board, this item also is budgeted in the tentative budget that I will present, but the jail district will absorb all that and it is balanced.

Thank you, sir. Any further discussion?

No, sir.

Okay, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries unanimously. At this time, I entertain a motion to exit jail district and reconvene regular session. I move. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries unanimously. And we will move to J, consent agenda. Motion to approve the consent agenda.

Mr. Chair, move to approve consent agenda, not including item three.

Thank you, sir. Second. Okay. It's been moved and seconded. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries unanimously. We'll move to K. Do I have a motion to adjourn?

I move to adjourn the meeting.

I'll second that motion.

All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries unanimously. We are adjourned at 1124. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

Good meeting.