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Cochise County Jail District adopts tentative $19.9 million budget, holds sales-tax revenue pending November vote
Summary
The Cochise County Jail District board adopted a tentative fiscal 2025-26 budget that lists $19,928,931 in combined transfers and sequestered sales-tax receipts; supervisors clarified the county will run jail operations on general-fund transfers while a half-cent sales tax is held in contingency pending voter approval of a ballot measure.
The Cochise County Jail District board on June 10 adopted a tentative fiscal year 2025-26 budget listing $19,928,931 in combined transfers and sequestered sales-tax receipts.
County staff said the district will operate using a required transfer of general-fund dollars for maintenance of effort while revenue from a proposed half-cent jail sales tax is held in contingency pending voter approval in November.
Miss Gilman, a county staff member, told the board the district is in a transition as officials prepare a November ballot measure to approve or reject the proposed excise tax. "The sales tax revenue will not be expended. It is being, if you will, locked into contingency and can only be expensed at the board's approval," Gilman said. She described the budget as reflecting the statutorily required maintenance-of-effort transfer from the general fund to maintain current jail operations and to cover requested operational increases, including salary increases for detention officers.
An unidentified board member moved to adopt the tentative budget, saying, "I move that we adopt the tentative budget of the Cochise County Jail District for fiscal year 2025-26 in the amount of $19,928,931." The board voted 3-0 to approve the tentative budget.
Supervisor Crosby (District 1) reiterated staff comments and stressed that the listed $19.9 million combines the general-fund transfer that will fund jail operations and the sales-tax receipts generated by the special district. "We are not spending that amount," Crosby said, explaining the general fund transfer will maintain operations while the sales-tax revenue is sequestered until voters direct otherwise.
Board members did not allocate the sales-tax revenue for operations in the adopted tentative budget. Gilman said the jail is expected to run on roughly $7.3 million in transferred general-fund dollars for the coming year; the additional funds shown in the budget represent sequestered sales-tax receipts that require separate board approval before they can be spent.
The board’s action was adoption of a tentative budget only; the county will hold a special board meeting to adopt the county’s tentative budget for fiscal 2025-26, and the November ballot will determine whether the excise tax that created the special district remains available for future appropriation.
The vote to adopt the tentative jail-district budget was recorded as 3-0 in favor.
