Phoenix budget hearing spotlights sales-tax increase, fire response, homelessness and Maryvale heat needs

City of Phoenix officials held a District 7 community budget hearing to gather public input on the proposed fiscal year 2025-26 trial budget, highlighting a recently approved citywide sales-tax increase and proposed additions for fire response, homeless services, water infrastructure and heat-mitigation efforts.

The trial budget, city staff said, responds to revenue losses from recent state actions and rising costs. City officials pointed to a March 18 City Council vote to raise the transaction privilege tax rate from 2.3% to 2.8%, effective July 1, 2025, and to other strategies intended to preserve services while balancing future budgets.

Why it matters: The budget contains targeted additions and funding shifts that would affect emergency response times, shelter operations, water treatment capacity and climate-adaptation investments in hotter neighborhoods. Residents and community groups used the hearing to press for more ambulances and shaded transit stops, to protect arts maintenance funding, and to insist heat-mitigation resources reach Maryvale and other South and West Phoenix neighborhoods.

City presentation and fiscal context Ginger Spencer, Deputy City Manager for the City of Phoenix, introduced the hearing and outlined the structure of the trial budget, saying it pairs estimated resources with projected expenses while seeking resident input before formal council consideration. Spencer and staff described three primary accounts in the budget: the general fund, enterprise funds (such as water services and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport) and special revenue funds earmarked for specific purposes.

Spencer and a city video noted two immediate fiscal pressures: the loss of residential rental sales tax authority at the state level and reductions in personal income tax rates, which the city said will reduce ongoing revenue. To offset that decline, the city noted that the council on March 18 voted to increase the transaction privilege tax (TPT) rate from 2.3% to 2.8% effective July 1, 2025, and indicated the trial budget also proposes using excise tax proceeds to finance large public-safety capital projects, including two new fire stations and additional apparatus.

Public comments and priorities Tim Gamage, executive vice president of Local 493 (the Phoenix firefighters union), urged action on ambulance availability and emergency response times. "We still have across the city every day patients waiting in their homes, waiting for ambos when they're having the worst day of their life," Gamage said, noting response times are approaching about nine minutes and saying additional ambulances are needed.

Patrick McDaniel, advocacy director of Phoenix Community Alliance, said his downtown business organization supports the TPT increase and the proposed reductions in fire department response times, and asked the city to reconsider a proposed roughly $175,000 cut to arts-and-culture maintenance that would affect local organizations.

Students and community groups focused on heat and transit. Beatriz Roxas Perez, a student and member of CHISPA Arizona, said shaded streets and more trees are a safety issue for students: "Shade is not a luxury. It's about safety," she said, asking that investments reach South and West Phoenix.

Raul Moreno, a senior at Phoenix Union Bioscience High School and member of CHISPA, supported the city's proposed $10 million investment in electric buses but said placement matters: shaded, comfortable stops are needed so transit does not add health risks for students.

Speakers representing Maryvale and the community group Rumbo urged faster, targeted heat mitigation in Maryvale, which they said is consistently 4 to 6 degrees hotter than other parts of the city. Luis Avila, Rumbo co-founder, requested additional investment for the city’s office of heat mitigation to develop a Maryvale-specific plan that could include shade structures, pavement treatments and transit-oriented cooling measures.

Rob Nolan, vice president of advocacy for the Irish Cultural Center, asked the council to prioritize preventing cuts to arts-maintenance funding to protect the city's arts infrastructure and cultural organizations.

Budget line items and clarifying details discussed - Transaction privilege tax: Council voted March 18 to raise the TPT rate from 2.3% to 2.8%, effective July 1, 2025, to generate revenue for programs and services (vote tally not specified at this hearing). - Homeless services: The trial budget includes an updated estimate of $4.5 million in general-fund resources for the Office of Homeless Solutions in fiscal year 2025-26 to help continue shelter operations at Rio Fresco, the Phoenix Navigation Center and the Washington Shelter and to support heat-relief efforts; staff said some federal pandemic-era funding is ending. - Fire and emergency response: The budget proposes additional funding to reduce emergency response times by hiring more firefighters and funding apparatus and new stations; speakers called specifically for more ambulances to reduce on-scene delays. - Water services: The proposed budget includes a $5.6 million non-general-fund addition to fund reopening the Cave Creek water reclamation plant to expand wastewater-treatment and water-purification capacity. - Transit and clean-air investments: Public comments supported a $10 million investment in electric buses but emphasized the need for shaded stops and route placement to protect riders from extreme heat. - Arts and culture: A roughly $175,000 proposed reduction to the Office of Arts and Culture maintenance budget drew requests to preserve funding.

Decisions and next steps City staff said the proposed trial budget will be presented to the full City Council on May 6 and that the council will vote on the budget on May 21; the property tax levy ordinance is scheduled for adoption in early July. Councilman Carlos Galindo Elvira, who led the District 7 hearing and said this will be his last budget hearing before he leaves office on April 21, said he would share public comment cards with councilwoman-elect Ana Hernandez so she and her staff can follow up.

Discussion versus action The hearing was a public-input session; no formal budget adoption or votes occurred during the meeting itself. The March 18 council vote to raise the TPT rate was referenced as an already completed action. Comments at the hearing included requests for staff follow-up, targeted planning for Maryvale heat mitigation, and reconsideration of arts-maintenance reductions. Speakers often framed specific asks as future actions for the incoming council member or for staff-led plans rather than immediate council decisions at the hearing.

What speakers asked officials to do next Residents requested (1) more ambulances and expanded emergency medical transport capacity; (2) protection or restoration of arts-maintenance funding; (3) a dedicated Maryvale heat-mitigation plan and expedited investments in trees, shade structures and cooled transit stops; (4) continued funding for shelter operations as federal pandemic resources expire; and (5) attention to placement of electric buses so riders have shaded stops.

The hearing concluded after public comment with staff and council representatives affirming they will share comments and materials with the incoming District 7 councilmember and with City Council staff ahead of formal budget action.