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Impacts of Legislative Budget on MunicipalitiesDespite widespread support for returning funding responsibility for the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) to the state's general fund, the legislative budget continues the imposition of an assessment on cities and towns to fund departmental operations. The budget assumes a municipal contribution of $6.25 million to ADWR, the same level as last year.The budget includes an overall shift of $87 million of Highway User Revenue Fund dollars to the Motor Vehicles Division. Of this amount, approximately $26 million is diverted from cities and towns. This funding shift happened for the first time last year at about the same level. In addition, the budget shifts $95 million (including $29 million from city and towns) in HURF dollars to the Department of Public Safety. This compares to $36 million diverted from cities and towns last year. The League is disappointed that these items, funding state agencies with local revenues, are included in the initial legislative budget. Nevertheless, bills providing for the elimination of the ADWR assessment continue to move through the legislative process, and several members have spoken out publicly against the continued transfer of HURF dollars. They have also explained that the proposed budget requires a number of changes to move toward enactment. In the meantime, we encourage city and town officials to contact members of their delegation to insist that those budget items be corrected before the final budget is approved. The League is pleased to report that the legislative budget does not sweep any 9-1-1 funds. Moreover, it proposes no changes to shared revenue distribution. |
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Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your comments or suggestions to league@azleague.org. |
