Staff for the Town of Fountain Hills has put together a budget proposal for the Fiscal Year 2023/2024 totaling $47,727,145, including $25,585,805 for the General Fund operating budget and $10,953,731 for Capital Improvement projects. The balance includes various fund balances committed by council policy.

Town Finance Director David Pock presented the budget proposal to the Town Council at a work session on Tuesday, April 11. The council did little to address the specific numbers presented but will have additional opportunities for input prior to final adoption scheduled for June. Council is to adopt its tentative budget (maximum amount) when it meets on Tuesday, May 2, giving staff an opportunity to address items discussed at the workshop.

Only one item was axed from the budget during the workshop, that was the proposed Sunridge Preserve park area at Sunridge and Desert Canyon drives. This has been a highly controversial discussion opposed by the neighborhood HOA for about a year. Staff had reached a proposal for a walking trail only on the property with no vehicle access or amenities. There was $100,000 in the capital budget to accomplish this, although it was expected to be done with volunteer trail builders at little to no cost. The money would have come from the Parks Development Fee Fund. However, a consensus of the council felt it was time to move on from the controversy and asked for the deletion.

Several other capital project items were discussed with funding to remain in the budget. No budgeted capital projects move forward without a bidding process and further council review before they are approved for construction. Staff was asked to provide additional information or options related to downtown streetscape and Centennial Circle improvements.

Just over $2 million in personnel supplements are attributed to the transition of the Fire Department to Town control during the upcoming fiscal year. That includes about $1.9 million for the personnel that have been employed by Rural/Metro Corp. as well as $102,575 for a human resources analyst and $38,591 for an IT support specialist.

Pock presented an outline for a proposed cost of living adjustment (COLA) for employees based on a 9.5% CPI increase for the area and estimated COLA adjustments for other municipalities ranging from 5% to 6.9%. The council members expressed support for employees and showing appreciation with wage increases, but no number was settled on during the workshop.

“If you value and appreciate your employees you are going to make sure you can keep them with a living wage, including COLA,” Councilwoman Sharron Grzybowski said.

Pock noted that every 1% increase would be $56,307 in payroll costs.

Councilman Gerry Friedel said he was shocked by the increased cost of the law enforcement contract with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, and he asked for a “serious conversation on the direction the town wanted to move forward.”

Friedel has been on the record for some time with concerns related to how MCSO was charging the Town for services and whether the Town is getting what it is paying for. He was clear that his concerns are no reflection on the personnel assigned to and working in the substation in Town.

Friedel is asking for arbitration, a termination clause as well as a steering committee with a focus on a local police department.

The Town has been discussing a new contract arrangement with MCSO to update an expiring agreement. Last year a consultant reported to the council they believed start-up costs would be prohibitive for the Town to transition to its own department.

Departments

Broken down by department the budget is reflected as follows:

Mayor and Council: $65,494 (-$11,125).

Administration: $2,763,916 (+$91,556).

General Government: $4,792,151 (-$432,756)

Municipal Court: $520,232 (-$16361)

Economic Development: $630,973 (+$62739)

Public Works: $18,823,756 (+$5,238,355)

Development Services: $1,256,441 (-$103,237)

Community Services: $5,746,900 (-$779,321)

Fire and Emergency Medical: $5,012,724 (+554,890)

Law Enforcement (MCSO) $6,388,595 (+$932,559)

The entire detailed budget document can be found for review on the Town website, fountainhillzaz.gov, under the Finance Department heading or directly at town-fountain-hills-az-budget-book.cleargov.com.