Health and safety of citizens in the COVID-19 pandemic was the top priority in the budget approved by Maricopa supervisors. | Pixabay
Health and safety of citizens in the COVID-19 pandemic was the top priority in the budget approved by Maricopa supervisors. | Pixabay
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has tentatively approved a $3.07 billion budget for fiscal year 2021 that keeps tax rates unchanged and focuses on health, safety and economic well-being of citizens coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These are difficult times,” said board chair Clint Hickman, the Daily Independent reported. “This budget focuses on what people need right now: Investments in their safety, their health, and their economic well-being, all within our state mandates, all without raising the tax rate.”
The board was able to respond to the crisis effectively because they planned well and took a conservative fiscal approach during the good times, Hickman said.
The overall budget is larger this year because of more than $398 million in federal COVID-19 assistance, the story stated.
Criminal justice and public safety accounts for 44% of spending followed by health, welfare and sanitation.
There is new funding for park improvements, animal control enforcement in unincorporated areas, technology that will allow employees to work better at home or the office, the Daily Independent reported.
”People are unemployed. Businesses are fighting to stay alive,” said Supervisor Steve Gallardo. “With this budget, and our share of CARES Act funding, Maricopa County departments now have greater capacity to help.”
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