Yuma County budget proposes tax hike, pay raises, no workforce growth

A 2.42-cent property tax increase, no net growth in the county workforce and a $5 million recession contingency defined the spending plan Yuma County leaders put before supervisors, who also had to weigh 3% pay-scale adjustments and 3% performance-based raises against a 3% cut in total appropriations. The proposal carried a clear message for taxpayers: the county wants to protect service levels and key facilities without expanding staffing, even as it asks residents to absorb a higher levy.

County Administrator Ian McGaughey brought the recommended fiscal year 2026/27 budget to the Board of Supervisors at a special session in the E.F. Sanguinetti Auditorium, 197 S. Main Street in Yuma. McGaughey, named county administrator in June 2022 after two years as deputy county administrator, has 20 years of local government experience. The board, chaired in 2026 by Martin Porchas with Jonathan W. Lines as vice-chair, has the authority under state law to adopt ordinances, levy taxes and appropriate funds. County officials said the public was encouraged to attend and comment as the board reviewed the county budget, department budgets and outside agencies receiving county money.

The tax-rate change is intended to partially restore the 8.76-cent General Fund reduction adopted in fiscal year 2023/24. County staff said any future tax adjustments should be considered every other year after another look at fiscal health. Even with the higher levy, the county said the tax rate would remain below the allowable limit for the 15th consecutive year, a point that will matter to homeowners watching property-tax bills and to supervisors judging how much pressure the county can sustain while keeping services steady.

The plan also showed where county leaders are willing to spend. It called for expanded facilities for Yuma County ITS and Facilities Management, completion of the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office Foothills Substation expansion and completion of the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension building. At the same time, the county projected a year-end General Fund balance of about 24.26% of total uses, above its 20% policy goal, and paired that cushion with the $5 million recession reserve. County leaders described the budget as the first to emerge from the new Five-Year Planning initiative, which links department goals, risk management and long-term strategy. For residents, the central question is straightforward: what stays flat, what grows and how much more taxpayers are asked to carry to preserve the county’s core operations.