Apache County sets June 2 hearing on 2026-27 budget

Apache County residents will have a direct say before supervisors consider the county’s 2026-27 budget, a decision that can reach into property tax bills, library funding, public health services, detention costs and flood control spending.

The public hearing is set for Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. MST in the Board of Supervisors meeting room at 75 West Cleveland Street in St. Johns. The tentative package includes the Apache County Library District, Public Health Services District, Jail District, Juvenile Jail District, Flood Control District, Junior College Tuition and Post Secondary Education, making it a countywide budget hearing with local consequences for families, parcel owners and service users from Eagar and Springerville to Chinle.

Residents can review tentative budget copies at the County Manager’s Office, also at 75 West Cleveland Street, during regular business hours Monday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. That is the clearest place to see whether the new spending plan shifts money toward public safety, health, education support or other county functions before the board takes any final action.

The hearing comes a year after Apache County adopted its 2025-26 budget on June 3, 2025, following a public hearing the same day. That budget provides the baseline for what taxpayers may compare against this year’s proposal. The county’s 2025-26 primary property tax levy was $3,605,859, and its secondary property tax levy was $7,204,949. The county also said it was proposing a $70,633 increase in primary property taxes, or 2%, which would have put primary county taxes on a $100,000 home at $75.00 instead of $73.53.

Those numbers matter because the budget is not just about bookkeeping. In the prior year, Apache County’s total primary tax rate was 0.7500 and its total secondary rate was 1.5402, while the adopted budget summary showed total all-funds expenditures and expenses of $78,318,745, including $28,123,046 in the General Fund and $50,195,699 in Special Revenue Funds. The county’s tax-rate resolution also shows how much of the budget is tied to special districts and programs, including the library, public health, jail, juvenile jail, junior college tuition, post secondary education, flood control and fire district assistance.

The Board of Supervisors, a three-member governing body, will decide after public input whether to move the tentative plan forward. The current board consists of Joe Shirley, Jr. of District I, Alton Joe Shepherd of District II and Nelson Davis of District III, with Davis serving as chairman and Shirley as vice chairman. Under Arizona’s budget rules in Title 42, Chapter 17, the hearing is the moment when residents can still push for changes before the county locks in spending and tax decisions for the year ahead.