Maricopa County budget for FY 2025 lowers property tax rate again, reduces spending

PHOENIX – The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved a $3.87 billion budget Monday that reduces its property tax rate for a fourth consecutive year.

The metro Phoenix spending plan for fiscal year 2025 represents an 11% decrease from the current year’s $4.35 billion budget.

“This is a budget that supports future growth and quality-of-life issues while guarding against the possibility of an economic downturn,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers, who represents District 1, said in a press release.

The new property tax rate is 1.16, or $116 for every $100,000 of home value. It was 1.25 for the current year and 1.4 when the cuts began in 2021.

NEW: Today, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the FY 2025 budget, which cuts the property tax rate for a 4th consecutive year while reducing overall spending by 11%
Read more: https://t.co/WwhaZxHFTE pic.twitter.com/0ZuEovg0MH

— Maricopa County (@maricopacounty) June 24, 2024

“One thing I want to highlight is that our county budget is taxing at a level of $257 million dollars below the threshold of where we could tax. … You never see government doing that,” District 2 Supervisor Thomas Galvin told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

What’s in the new Maricopa County budget?

Public safety spending takes up 47% of the new Maricopa County budget. That includes the sheriff’s office and jails, the county attorney’s office and the county court system.

“For me, for the county budget to be about half of it dedicated to public safety, is a point of pride,” Galvin said. “We want to make sure that folks are safe.”

The budget also includes funding for a variety of capital projects, including a new downtown facility to replace the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center.

“It would be a brand new state-of-the-art facility with the utmost security to make sure that our elections are run smooth, fair and accurate,” Galvin said.

Unlike state, county keeps money in reserve

The Maricopa County budget is the second largest in Arizona, trailing only the state’s, which is $16.1 billion for the fiscal year that starts next week. Unlike the state, the county didn’t have to deal with a shortfall when crafting its latest budget.

The FY 2025 budget illustrates that Maricopa County is an efficient government. Maricopa County spends less than $1,000 per resident, while some similar-sized counties spend three or four times as much. pic.twitter.com/zmbgDGGraJ

— Maricopa County (@maricopacounty) June 25, 2024

“We have plenty of money in reserves,” Galvin said. “And while I watched the state Legislature and the governor grapple over their economic mess, a state deficit that’s in the billions of dollars, I’m proud to say that we at Maricopa County are the most conservative and responsible government you’re going to find, not only in the state of Arizona but around the country.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Balin Overstolz-McNair contributed to this report.

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