Opinion
www.GilbertSunNews.com
County budget decision a difficult one BY DENNY BARNEY
You might have heard the Board of Supervisors recently passed a $2.2 billion budget for the new fiscal year. It was a unanimous vote. But it was not easy. As an DENNY BARNEY. administrative arm Submitted photo of the state, the county implements state laws and provides mandated services. As such, much of the county’s fortune is tied directly to the state’s. And Arizona’s budget was in a crisis earlier this year. Facing a $1 billion budget deficit, Gov. Ducey and state legislators fashioned a budget that required many groups, including the county, to share in the pain. In fact, the lawmakers approved a state budget that shifted some $32.2 million in state costs to Maricopa County alone. Coupled with year-over-year stateimposed transfers and cost shifts totaling over $269 million since 2008, this is a difficult challenge. And it’s getting harder. When you factor in rising criminal justice costs, increasing caseloads and public demands, then mix in sluggish revenue growth in both sales and property taxes, our county administrators and elected officials are being asked to perform minor miracles. You may have read about child dependency cases arising from parental abuse and neglect. In fact, Maricopa County Superior Court is facing dependency caseloads almost three times what they were in 2007. Additionally, Superior Court has an increasing percentage of active cases pending trial and a lower percentage of completed trials. Capital trials as well are on a steady incline. And when the courts are backed up, defendants spend more time in jail—at $85.49 a day. It would be cheaper to put them up in a hotel. Another growing cost: Health service for the inmates, specifically, pharmaceutical costs. In addition, several judgment orders at Maricopa County sheriff office have
proven costly. The Melendres judgment alone will cost an estimated $23.8 million in the 2016 budget on top of $28 million already spent. And the Durango Jail is in such disrepair, we must replace it. We have no other option. And yet, we approved a $2.2 billion total budget, barely $12.4 million over last year’s. Only seven county departments saw increases over last year, and all the significant increases were public safety related—adult probation, juvenile probation, sheriff’s office, county attorney and superior court. In contrast, 40 department budgets remained flat or reduced their overall spending. We also made technology investments, which will ultimately save on personnel costs and increase efficiency. Ten departments submitted zero-based budgets this year, an initiative I started last year as chairman, following the good results ZBB had produced in Gilbert. This is fiscally prudent and allows us to keep a pulse on incremental increases in spending. It is said that a budget, any budget, public or private, is the ultimate policy tool. The county budget, like your family budget, reflects priorities. At Maricopa County, our priorities are clear: Public safety joined with fiscal prudence driven by mandates. Also key is bringing business principles to government, improving efficiency and reducing regulation where
June 2015
43
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possible, while increasing customer service. I don’t expect future budget years to get easier. However, I do feel confident that as a county we are making many of the tough decisions today that will prove wise in the future. Denny Barney is Maricopa County supervisor for district one.
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