Mohave County supervisors adopt modified tentative budget, set June 16 public hearings

The Mohave County Board of Supervisors on a unanimous vote adopted a modified tentative FY26 budget Wednesday, approving a package based on the manager's recommended option that funds many departmental requests while setting public hearings on the final budget and tax levies for June 16.

The board's action adopted the county's recommended option (Option B as presented by finance staff) but approved a modified Option C spending envelope in motion, adding $113,000 for a previously frozen county attorney position, $15,000 for digital evidence storage software, $600,000 earmarked as a capital placeholder for a District 3 office, and $4 million as a placeholder for a county morgue. Supervisors also asked staff to schedule Truth-in-Taxation hearings for the county's primary property tax rate and the flood control district levy and to hold a special board meeting for final budget adoption on June 16.

The budget presentation opened with county manager Sam Elders and finance director Luke Morneon, who described revenue adjustments since the April budget workshop and outlined three budget options. Morneon told the board the recommended option remains "structurally balanced" across a five-year forecast but noted several post-workshop changes: about $200,000 additional PILT revenue, roughly $55,000 from updated special district fee allocations, and a $70,000 transfer from the general fund to public health to partly cover reduced grant funding and keep the county's mobile health unit operating through FY26. Morneon also reported department purchase-order rollovers and said two sheriff capital radio upgrades (about $550,000) had been removed after the sheriff said the office would piggyback on Lake Havasu City's digital radio network for substantially lower cost.

Supervisors pressed staff on contingency, fund balances and specific program costs. Morneon said contingency is being budgeted at 10% of operating expenses and that the county typically taps contingency for unforeseen department needs. Supervisor Lettman questioned larger increases in the IT contingency and supply lines; IT director Nate McDaniel explained those changes reflected fund-balance rollovers and planned multi-year capital needs.

Public health funding and the county's mobile health unit drew sustained scrutiny. Supervisor Gould said she wanted to avoid creating ongoing general-fund obligations with ARPA- or grant-funded programs and asked whether the mobile unit was an efficient use of county dollars. Elders and Morneon said the ARPA-funded portion of operations will be exhausted in coming months (estimated around September), that the public health department is reporting usage monthly, and that staff recommended a one-time $70,000 transfer from the general fund to cover a FY26 shortfall so the unit can continue operations while departments pursue other grant funding. Morneon warned the grant picture remains fluid.

Courts and law-and-justice funding factored into the debate. The board's modified package included funding (about $430,000 in FY26) for the equivalent of one full-time court commissioner (the board briefed that two commissioners would be phased in across FY26 and FY27), as well as additional detention and deputy FTEs and compensation steps requested by the sheriff's office. The modified option C includes funding to complete Phase 2B of the historic courthouse remodel ($6 million in one-time funding) while preserving an overall five-year plan, the finance director said.

At the end of deliberations, Supervisor Lettman moved to adopt Option C as the tentative budget with the additions described above. A motion to modify and expand that adoption to include the District 3 office placeholder and the morgue placeholder passed; the board then voted in favor and directed staff to return on June 16 for the required Truth-in-Taxation hearings and to present the final budget for adoption.

What happens next: staff will publish the tentative budget, hold the Truth-in-Taxation hearings and a special meeting on June 16 to adopt a final budget and the county's property tax rates if required. Morneon also said he will bring back a draft fund-balance policy for the board's consideration at a subsequent meeting.

Budget numbers and clarifications presented to the board - Additional revenue: roughly $200,000 in PILT and about $55,000 from finalized special district fees. - General-fund transfer to public health: $70,000 to help keep the mobile health unit operating in FY26. - Sheriff radio capital requests removed: roughly $550,000; sheriff reports an alternative solution costing about $15,000 in equipment. - Contingency calculation: budgeted at 10% of operating expenses. - Modified Option C recurring shortfall: staff estimated a FY26 recurring structural deficit of roughly $1.5'$2.1 million before and after last-minute adjustments; adopting the modified motion uses portions of surplus fund balance as placeholders for one-time projects.

Officials quoted - "Our recommendation has not changed. It's still that option B that was presented in April," Finance Director Luke Morneon. - "We are pursuing other opportunities [for grants]. Having funds in the budget just as a placeholder is good," County Manager Sam Elders.

Ending: The tentative budget moves the county into a final budget phase with public hearings on June 16. The board's additions reflect a mix of immediate operational concerns (attorney staffing and digital evidence storage) and larger, one-time capital placeholders (District 3 office, courthouse work, a possible morgue) that will require subsequent procurement and formal contract awards before money is spent.