San Luis council adopts fiscal year 2025–26 budget, chooses conservative spending under home rule

Misoula Encinas, the city’s director of finance, presented the final fiscal year 2025–26 budget and said the document includes the required Schedule A forms and a summary of estimated revenues, expenditures and beginning and ending fund balances.

“As required by Arizona Auditor General Office, the final budget includes schedule A, which provides the summary of estimated revenues and expenditures,” Encinas said during the public hearing.

Encinas told the council that fiscal year 2026 will be the first year the city operates under the home-rule option approved by residents; however staff recommended operating within the state-imposed expenditure limitation for the coming year as a conservative measure to preserve long-term financial stability.

The council voted to adopt Resolution No. 2364, which sets the budget to take effect July 1, 2025, and guide operations through June 30, 2026. The motion to adopt passed by a 6–1 vote.

The final budget package on the council packet included capital project schedules, new personnel requests and salary reclassifications. Encinas said the budget process began in late 2024 with guidelines and continued through departmental submissions and a council work session in February 2025; the tentative budget had been presented May 28 and was refined for final adoption.

What happened: the council held the required public hearing and adopted Resolution No. 2364; staff emphasized transparency and compliance with state reporting forms while exercising home-rule authority conservatively.

Next steps: the budget goes into effect July 1, 2025; staff will implement the approved operating and capital plans and return to council as needed on specific appropriations or development projects.