Phoenix budget hearing spotlights South and West investments, homelessness and fire-response needs

Councilwoman Hodge opened a May 6 public budget hearing in Phoenix where residents and city staff discussed the proposed fiscal 2025–26 budget, focusing on investments in South and West Phoenix, homelessness services and public-safety staffing.

The hearing matters because the city manager’s proposed “trial” budget includes a proposed tax-rate change, specific allocations for homelessness and capital projects, and sets the timetable for council consideration ahead of a May 21 council vote and legal adoption scheduled in June. The property tax levy ordinance is slated for early July, staff said during the presentation.

City staff opened the hearing with an overview of the budget process and the draft proposals. Mario Barajas, an interpreter for the meeting, read from the presentation and told Spanish-speaking attendees that interpreters were available and reviewed participation guidelines. The presentation described the budget structure — a general fund for core services, enterprise funds (including Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and water services) and restricted funds for capital and voter-approved purposes — and warned of possible structural deficits caused in part by recent state revenue changes.

The draft budget includes a proposed increase in the council tax rate from 2.3% to 2.8% effective July 1, 2025, listed as a revenue strategy in the trial budget. The presentation also identified several proposed or budgeted items: $4.5 million in general fund resources for the Office of Homeless Solutions in 2025–26 due to ending federal pandemic-era funding; funding for additional firefighters, apparatus and two new fire stations to reduce emergency response times; and a proposed $5,600,000 non-general-fund addition for the Cape Creek water reclamation plant to expand wastewater treatment and purification capacity.

Residents used the public-comment period to press for specific capital and operating priorities. Christine Skoronic, a resident, urged councilmembers to prioritize capital-improvement spending in South and West Phoenix to reduce air pollution and heat impacts and to improve transit and street safety. “Nobody wants to get these alerts on their side … having clean air is such an important piece,” Skoronic said, calling for investments such as electric buses, expanded transit service, tree planting and “complete streets” in neighborhoods with low canopy cover.

Multiple speakers asked the council to direct funds to tree-planting and heat-resilience projects. One speaker referenced city proposals that would allocate $1,000,000 for new trees in parks and mentioned a $7,000,000 figure for street retrofits to add shade structures and pedestrian safety features; those dollar figures were raised by public commenters during remarks and recorded in the hearing transcript as suggestions for prioritization.

Jessica Bristol, who identified herself as living in District 8, pressed again for equitable spending in historically underserved South Phoenix, including cool-corridor and tree-planting investments at bus stops and light-rail stations to reduce heat exposure.

Public-safety and service requests also featured in testimony. Tom Grama Jr., a neighborhood resident, thanked the city for recent steps but urged more fire stations and ambulances for the west side of his neighborhood, saying long travel times to hospitals create added risk: “When an ambulance leaves to take you, you got about 20 minutes to get to a hospital,” he said, adding that ambulance offloading commonly takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Speakers also addressed homelessness and nonprofit coordination. Jeanie Ann Sumner, citing the Graffiti Buster program’s work, asked councilmembers to make volunteer and nonprofit referral information more available and supported the Office of Homeless Solutions. Sumner said, “I support the Phoenix Cares program, but I oppose it because Community Bridges is process heavy,” urging better referral lists and simpler processes. Another commenter asked the city to publish a consolidated list of nonprofits and contact information to aid referrals.

Library advocates urged full funding of library requests. A longtime volunteer identified as Carlos Andrade recounted decades of service to Phoenix libraries and asked the council not to reduce library funding, saying library services help residents find jobs and improve literacy.

Other neighborhood-specific requests included a Hidden Park resident’s request for a basketball court, restrooms and bounded play areas to keep youth engaged.

No formal votes were taken at the hearing. City staff and councilmembers said the council will consider public feedback before the May 21 council vote on the budget and planned legal adoption in June; the property tax-levy ordinance remains scheduled for early July.

The record of the hearing includes a recorded staff summary of revenue pressures from state-level actions, proposed program and capital allocations, and a sequence of resident comments advocating for heat resilience, transit and public-safety investments in South and West Phoenix.