Cochise County adopts tentative $293.1 million budget, schedules truth-in-taxation hearing July 8

The Cochise County Board of Supervisors on a 3–0 vote adopted a tentative county budget for fiscal year 2025–26 totaling $293,120,335 and set a truth-in-taxation hearing for July 8, 2025, at 10 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room in Bisbee to receive public comment on the proposed tax levy.

The tentative budget the board approved includes a general fund portion of approximately $110.6 million and special revenue funds that bring total all-funds spending to about $293.1 million. County finance staff told the board the tentative plan includes an $18.78 million contingency (about 17% of the total budget) and an additional $1 million contingency to cover possible state-level increases not yet finalized in the state budget.

Stacy Gilman of county finance summarized revenue assumptions and expenditure drivers, saying revenues are drawn from property tax, the county's half-cent sales tax, state-shared sales tax distributions (estimated at $18 million), highway-user revenues and vehicle license taxes, and other sources such as Justice of the Peace and magistrate fines. Gilman said the health department is expecting a 13.6% increase in revenue, building permit revenue is expected to be flat, and recorder fees are down about 2.5%.

Gilman and supervisors outlined several expenditure changes included in the tentative budget: an increase in employer-paid health benefits, a market adjustment budgeted at $1.5 million to address pay across most departments, a roughly $21,000 increase for the Southeast Arizona Communications Center (9-1-1 dispatch), a $4,500 increase in a mosquito monitoring contract for the health department, and an estimated $3.4 million county share of increased costs from the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) as presented by the Legislature's estimate.

Board members discussed the county's statutory expenditure limit and a request the county is pursuing at the state level for a 5% increase to that limit for rural counties with populations under 500,000. Chairman Antonari said the increase is intended to allow the county to avoid creating special districts to move spending off the general fund and to instead keep revenues under board oversight so the county can pay down pension liabilities and manage costs tied to a new jail.

Supervisors and staff also discussed unfunded retirement liabilities. The county's finance staff reported an unfunded liability of about $29.3 million for public safety retirement tiers, down from prior data. The board said the county plans additional contributions next fiscal year of $2.5 million, with a possible additional payment up to $5 million depending on year-end results, and reiterated an ongoing effort to reduce pension liabilities without issuing debt or raising taxes.

After the presentation and discussion, the board called the question and the motion to adopt the tentative budget passed 3–0. The board then voted 3–0 to set a truth-in-taxation hearing for 10 a.m. July 8, 2025, at the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 1415 Melody Lane, Bisbee.

The board announced a possible special executive session immediately following the next meeting to consider settlement of a large tax appeal, Michael E. Piper v. Cochise County.