Maricopa County budget plan cuts property tax rate again, trims spending

PHOENIX — The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a tentative budget Monday that reduces spending and lowers the property tax rate.

The $4.35 billion spending package for fiscal year 2024 is $114.1 million lower than the current year’s budget, a decline of 2.6%.

The plan calls for a cut in the property tax rate for the third consecutive year, from 1.25 ($125 per $100,000 of home value) to 1.2 ($120 per 100,000).

A final vote is scheduled for June 26.

“While we are careful about following our mandates, this board realizes there are urgent needs in our community and so we have focused on spending where it will truly make a difference: providing housing, providing job opportunities and protecting public safety,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman said in a press release.

About half of the spending, as in years past, is going toward public safety. That includes funding for 21 new positions in the county attorney’s office and 46 security officers to screen for drugs in county jails.

The next largest chunk, 28.1%, is for health, welfare and sanitation.

The budget includes $494 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to support homelessness services, affordable housing, community health, small business resilience and other programs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Budgeting isn’t easy, but our team does a great job aligning spending with our priorities,” Supervisor Bill Gates said in the release.

“And because we run efficient programs at Maricopa County, we can give residents a tax break while also funding services and programs that meet current needs and improve quality of life for future generations.”

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