Coconino County staff recommend Truth in Taxation notices as levy rises; rate falls under formula

Coconino County finance staff recommended the board begin legal notices and schedule a Truth in Taxation hearing for June 24 after proposing budget assumptions that include a 2% increase to the general fund property tax levy.

Siri, identified in the meeting as a county finance staff member, told the Board of Supervisors that the county would collect about $11 million in general-fund property tax under current rates and that a full allowable 2% levy increase would raise levy dollars by roughly $368,000 on a roughly $100 million general-fund budget. "It can be used for any county purpose," Siri said, and noted that because limited assessed values rose faster than 2% this year, the primary tax rate would fall from $0.49 to a recommended maximum allowable $0.48 per $100 of assessed value even as the county collects more in levy dollars.

The presentation stressed that Coconino County still has the lowest primary property tax rate of any county in Arizona. Siri warned that the county's historically conservative use of taxing capacity led to a situation where the county is effectively locked into a low rate: "If we do this property tax notice of tax increases... our rate will be 48¢," she…