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City officials warn bill to exempt groceries would cut local public‑safety funding; ask for coordinated outreach
Summary
City and county leaders discussed a state bill to eliminate or narrow sales tax on groceries; city staff said the removal would reduce the City of Yuma's revenue by roughly $8 million and would materially affect police and fire budgets; board members asked staff to prepare fact sheets and seek legislative help.
City and county officials discussed pending state legislation that would exempt certain grocery food purchases from local sales tax and said the change would have a substantial local fiscal impact if enacted.
City staff reported that House Bill language under discussion would remove a grocery sales tax base in jurisdictions that levy it. City officials said an elimination of the grocery portion would reduce City of Yuma revenues by about $8 million and that, because much public‑safety spending is funded from sales tax in the city budget, the change would in practice "defund" police and fire operations unless replaced by other revenues.
"It's a defunding of our police and our fire departments, in a very real way," a City of Yuma representative said during the discussion.
Officials noted not every Arizona city currently taxes grocery sales (Phoenix, Tucson and Mesa do not), but the bill’s effect would be statewide and could reduce revenues in cities that do tax groceries. Staff said the state legislature and some members of the local delegation have cosponsored the proposal; officials asked the board and council to help educate legislators and constituents about the local impacts.
Councilmembers asked for a clear fact sheet showing the dollar impact and how much an average household would save if groceries were exempted; staff agreed to prepare such materials so municipal leaders could carry the information to the legislature and the public. The group discussed working with the League of Arizona Cities and Towns on outreach and invited coalition work with other impacted municipalities.
County and city leaders said the unusual structure of the Yuma area economy — heavy seasonal population and cross‑border commerce — makes a statewide exemption especially damaging for local budgets, and they said some smaller jurisdictions with limited tax bases (notably San Luis and Somerton) would be hit particularly hard.
Officials asked staff to prepare a short, data‑driven briefing and to coordinate outreach with municipal partners and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.
