|
Supervisor's Message
As we head into the summer months, I know many of you have already made plans to get away. Wherever your destination, I hope you all travel safely and enjoy your time away in hopefully cooler weather. For those of you who are staying in town, please be careful when you’re outside and remember to stay hydrated and take precautions to avoid any heat-related illnesses.
|
|
|
I am very pleased to announce that my colleagues and I are cutting the property tax rate for a fourth straight year while trimming the overall county budget by 11%. The tentative FY 2025 budget demonstrates our commitment to easing the burden on families and individuals at a time of persistently high prices and statewide financial headwinds. County budget approval comes as the legislature grapples with a statewide budget deficit and counties across Arizona deal with a slowdown in sales tax revenues. Our long-time conservative budgeting philosophy leaves us better positioned than most to deal with these challenges.
The $3.87 billion dollar county budget includes several protections for taxpayers. While some other counties are taxing as much as they are allowed under state law, Maricopa County’s tax levy is $257.1 million below the maximum. We have cut the county’s primary property tax rate for a fourth year in a row, to 1.16 (or $116 on a $100,000 home). In 2021, the rate was 1.4.
Maricopa County is also seeing financial benefits after two consecutive years of paying down unfunded pension liabilities for retiring government employees in the law enforcement sector. By paying down a significant amount of debt at low interest rates in FY 2023 and 2024, my colleagues and I have made sure that pension debt will cost taxpayers less in this and future budgets.
Public safety funding makes up 47% of the overall budget, covering core services like law enforcement, jails, probation, courts, and criminal prosecution and defense. Both the County Attorney’s Office and Adult Probation have money in contingency to support the projected growth in staffing needs. Another priority: heat relief. Maricopa County has led the country in identifying and understanding heat-related deaths. After a record number in 2023, the Department of Public Health established a heat relief coordinator position and invested almost $3 million in relief sites around the Valley that stay open later and on weekends. Our Human Services Department has budgeted nearly $11 million on heat relief efforts in FY 2025. We have also allocated all of the federal money Maricopa County received post-pandemic from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), directing nearly $900 million toward public health and economic recovery efforts.
I am proud that Maricopa County has been recognized as one of the best in nation at providing career advancement and workforce development opportunities to residents, and this budget invests nearly $25 million more toward that effort.
Major capital projects funded in FY 2025 include a new West Valley Animal Shelter; MCSO substation and warehouse projects; a new Public Health building; parks and library improvements; a remodel of the Southwest Juvenile Detention Facility; and the construction of a new downtown elections center.
As for this year’s election cycle, $29 million is budgeted to support the 2024 primary and general elections in Maricopa County. My colleagues and I will be voting on a final budget on June 24.
|
|
I had the pleasure of attending the Commemoration Ceremony for the completion of the Flood Control District of Maricopa County's rehabilitation of Buckeye FRS 1.
Buckeye FRS 1, is a 7.2-mile long earthen dam located in the West Valley near Sun Valley Parkway and the I-10. This rehab adds another 100-years of flood protection for the lives and properties downstream, including the Buckeye Airport which saw a 216% increase in operations. Protecting this vital economic engine is critical to not only the City of Buckeye's success but the whole I-10 corridor in this part of western Maricopa County. Congratulations Flood Control on this remarkable achievement!
|
Maricopa County Recorder Unveils Recording Kiosk at the Sun City Library
On May 7, I was happy to attend the unveiling of the Recorder’s Office new “recording kiosk” located at the Sun City Bell Library. Instead of making the commute downtown, Sun City residents will now be able to connect with a member of the recording team in real time through the easy-to-use kiosk. The kiosk features live assistance, easy touch screen controls, immediate document scanning for mortgages, deeds, liens, and more, and credit card payment processing. I championed this effort when I first became Supervisor and am happy to see that we now have a kiosk here in district 4. Aside from having a kiosk downtown and now in the West Valley, plans are underway to have a kiosk in each of the supervisorial districts throughout Maricopa County.
|
|
|
Public Health
Public Health launched an interactive, online heat dashboard to help provide residents with more accessible and timely data around countywide heat-related hospital visits and deaths.
The dashboard replaces weekly heat surveillance reports previously published on the public health website. The online tracker will be updated weekly on Tuesdays and allow the user to interact with the data. It features:
- Near real-time data on heat-related hospital visits in addition to data on heat-related deaths
- Comparative data for heat-related deaths and hospital visits for 2023 and 2024
- Patient characteristics by age, race, and sex to demonstrate who is at highest risk from heat and inform prevention efforts
- Patient characteristics on housing status and substance use involvement in heat-related hospital visits and deaths
A big thank you to our Office of Enterprise Technology for helping Public Heath create this useful tool!
|
Office of Communications
In an effort to raise awareness about heat relief resources such as 2-1-1 and the cooling centers within the heat relief network, we have created a collection of graphics and videos that provide helpful information for people in a heat emergency. We encourage you to share this with people in your network as we work to reduce heat-related deaths this summer.
|
Animal Care and Control
Maricopa County Animal Care & Control has launched its Mission Microchip event to offer free microchipping services through the end of the year to help keep pets safe and in their homes. MCACC will be offering appointments every day of the week at the West (2500 S 27th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85009) and East (1920 S Lewis Drive, Mesa, AZ 85210) shelters during the summer. This service is FREE- make sure to set up an appointment by clicking the Appointment button below.
|
Elections Updates
Primary and General Election Preparation
Arizona's Primary Election is coming up on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, and the General Election will follow a few months later on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
On May 29, the Maricopa County Elections Department hosted a Mock Election at MCTEC to check processes and procedures for a two-page ballot in the General Election. Media was invited and over 60 poll workers were hired to simulate operations for two Vote Centers, both as poll workers and voters. Voters practiced checking in, picking up their ballots, voting for races, and submitting their ballots into tabulators. Elections staff was able to implement process updates in real time.
As a reminder, registered Independents CAN vote in both the Primary and General Elections. For the Primary, they will need to select which ballot they want to receive at Maricopa.Vote or by calling 602-506-1511.
|
|
|
Service Spotlight
Congratulations to our Tom Manos Service Award Winner!
 Congratulations to Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Martinez. He was awarded the 2024 Tom Manos Outstanding Service Award.
Every year, the Board of Supervisors selects an employee who embodies the best of the best in public service. Named after former county manager Tom Manos, this award is among the highest honors a county employee can receive. Deputy Martinez has worked with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) for more than 19 years and has led collaborative efforts across the valley to improve MCSO's training programs, strengthen public trust, and elevate best practices for law enforcement. Deputy Martinez also demonstrates a commitment to public service outside of the workplace, making it a priority to engage with the community he serves. This past year, with the assistance of staff and volunteers, Deputy Martinez brought a box truck full of gifts ranging from bikes to barbies for the town of Aguila's annual Christmas event. Thank you, Deputy Martinez, for carrying on Tom Manos' legacy of commitment to serving your community!
|
|
|
When you work for Maricopa County, you will be providing vital services to a diverse population in the fourth-largest county in the nation. You'll work with a dynamic group of diverse and talented professionals who are passionate about serving the community to make Maricopa County the best place to work, live, and play.
With over 50 different departments, there is ample opportunity to start your career in one department and advance to another. Our positions vary from entry-level through executive level. View all postings here, or below.
|
|
Was This Email Forwarded to You?
You can subscribe to Chairman Hickman's newsletter by clicking the subscribe button below.
|
|
|
|
|
