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Supervisors accept Buffett Foundation grant amid complaints some rural fire districts were left out
Summary
Cochise County accepted a private grant for distribution to county fire districts, but Supervisor Kathleen Gomez objected that several volunteer rural districts in her area were excluded; county staff said the private foundation supplied the final recipient list. The board accepted the grant by a 3-0 vote.
The Cochise County Board of Supervisors voted June 30 to accept grant funding from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation to be distributed through the Cochise County Sheriff's Department to several fire districts.
Mr. Bradshaw, a county staff member, told the board the foundation supplied a final list of recipients and that the county had 90 days to accept the award. He said, "we're not in the habit of telling multi-million dollar foundations how to spend their money," and described the county's role as the conduit and reporting authority to the state attorney general.
Supervisor Kathleen Gomez sharply criticized the distribution, saying several volunteer fire districts in her district — she named McNeel, Alfreda and Sunnyside — received no funds and that local volunteers had been left out by the foundation’s selection process. Gomez said the excluded districts perform critical emergency and wildfire response work and appealed to other elected officials and county directors to help identify supplemental funding. "It breaks my heart that some of the two most needed [districts] who do so much for all the incorporated areas in my district are not included," she said.
Bradshaw and other board members acknowledged the contribution and expressed gratitude, while noting that the private foundation controlled recipient selection. The board voted 3-0 to accept the grant.
The meeting record contains inconsistent formatting of the grant amount (the agenda and remarks included figures such as "1,70,000" and references to "million70,000"). County staff did not provide a single, clear dollar total on the record; the precise award amount should be confirmed with county finance or the sheriff's office for reporting and auditing purposes.
Supervisor Gomez said she will pursue state-level advocacy and work with the Arizona Association of Rural Fire Districts on legislative proposals to secure more stable and accountable funding for volunteer and rural districts.
