Maricopa County supervisors accept committee recommendation to seek 20-year extension of jail excise tax

Maricopa County supervisors voted to accept the Public Safety Funding Committee's recommendation that the county pursue a 20-year extension of the county's detention excise sales tax at the current rate of one-fifth of one cent. The committee's report noted the tax is scheduled to expire in March 2027 and that failing to extend it would likely require significant property tax increases and reductions in services, according to materials presented to the board.

The committee said an outside consultant's review of fiscal-year 2023 expenditures found roughly 99% of detention-fund spending is driven by legal mandates ' statutes, court orders or constitutional provisions ' including associated administrative costs. The committee also reviewed a jail master plan and juvenile facility assessment by Arrington Watkins Architects, which estimated capital and maintenance needs of $1.6 billion to $2.0 billion over the next 15…