When it comes to Maricopa County spending, you won't find the supervisors looking for new programs to fund. Instead, you will find fiscal discipline and a business mindset.

The 2016 budget we adopted is $2.2 billion, virtually the same as it has been for years. More than 90 percent of the budget goes to services mandated by state government or the Constitution. About 52 percent of the budget goes to public safety and criminal justice. In all, only a handful of county departments received increases from the current year while 40 departments remained at the same level or took a cut.

Maricopa County is a big place, the fourth largest county in the nation. We focused this budget on hiring more prosecutors, probation officers, establishing four new court rooms and increased cyber security. We'll begin replacing the 40-year-old Durango Jail and build a new intake center for greater efficiencies at our jails. We will launch new flood control projects. Residents in New River, Laveen and Mesa are still recovering from last year's monsoon floods. They won't forget and neither will we.

None of this was easy. Consider:

--Growth and demand for services are outpacing revenues that are rising very slowly. Property tax revenues plummeted during the recession and have not reached levels of the previous decade.

--Since 2007, county taxpayers have absorbed $269 million in costs to help offset the state legislature's fiscal demands. During the last state legislative session, the total was $32.2 million in contributions and cost shifts.

--While the number of lawsuits against the county came down the past two years, it doesn't change the fact that we are obligated to pay legal fees and absorb the costs of compliance for all county offices and departments. We will meet these obligations even though it is adding millions of dollars to the county budget every year. We will continue to work to lower our risk exposure.

And yet, in the face of these many challenges, we have managed. In fact, Maricopa County earned another AA+ credit rating and AAA issuer rating from Standard and Poor’s. County agencies and departments received 47 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties for being innovative and efficient in delivery of services -- the most awards received of any county in America.

Maricopa County strives to be "Best in Class" in the delivery of needed public services. To achieve these goals, this board has moved to zero-based budgeting and drilled into our regulatory process to make it less burdensome for business and less confusing for residents. We worked with other county elected officials to craft a Strategic Plan that guides everything we do.

Our citizens can believe in this conservative budget that reflects our needs, not our wants.