Prescott Valley candidates outline competing priorities on jobs, budgets and youth retention

Candidates at the Prescott Valley forum described contrasting strategies to grow the town's revenue base, keep young people in the community and attract employers.

Mayor Palguda argued for treating town government like a business: attract events, tourists and businesses to grow sales‑tax revenue and increase the general fund rather than imposing a town property tax. He said the town's general fund grew from "$1,500,000" to a figure he gave as "$52,800,000" and cited reduced permitting times (from 10 weeks to 2.5 weeks) to support business formation.

Council members and other candidates emphasized attracting higher‑wage employers, strengthening vocational pathways and partnering with Yavapai College and trade schools to retain graduates. Mr Nagel and several others proposed internships, mentor programs and trades training; speakers repeatedly raised affordable starter housing, mid‑market housing and job opportunities as essential to keeping youth local.

On municipal revenue, views diverged: some candidates rejected a town property tax and prioritized sales tax and impact fees; others said developer impact fees and targeted business taxes (for example, higher rates on certain commercial categories) could be considered. Several candidates also discussed elevating water fees or developer impact fees to ensure infrastructure costs are covered rather than relying on general‑fund dollars.

Public safety received frequent mention, with candidates urging adequate pay and equipment for police and supporting tools such as Flock cameras, which Council member Schumacher described as a restricted, in‑house tool for investigations.

The forum provided voters with clear policy distinctions on taxes, development sequencing, workforce strategy and civic tone; it concluded without formal action.