PIMA — The Pima Town Council unanimously approved the town’s Fiscal Year 2022-23 tentative budget this week; however, there was dissent when it came to Safford’s tentative budget.
Once a tentative budget is approved, no more expenditures can be added; however, cuts may be made up until the adoption of the final budget.
Pima Town Manager Vernon Batty said revenues to the city are up and, thanks to good response to the U.S. Census, the town will receive almost $200,000 more in state shared revenue.
He also put in the budget a 2.5 percent cost of living increase for all town employees, plus another 2.5 percent increase based on merit.
“I’m asking high this year because the cost of living is up so much,” Batty said. “Social Security set it at 9.6 percent I believe, so if we don’t keep up the cost of living, we’re basically taking money away from people.”
Batty budgeted for $2.8 million in expenditures in FY23, which is up 13.5 percent from the current fiscal year. He’s anticipating $3.2 million in revenues, giving the town an almost $400,000 cushion.
Safford City Manager John Cassella presented a budget with $73.9 million in expenditures in FY23 — an 8.8 percent decrease from the current fiscal year — and is projecting $77.8 million in revenues.
The budget includes a 3 percent salary increase for all employees, and another 3 percent increase for about 67 percent of the workforce under the city’s longevity reward program. The other third of employees received their increase in the current fiscal year.
The City Council voted 6-1 to adopt the tentative budget, with Mayor Jason Kouts voting against.
“I oppose because of using our one-time funding; I’m not in favor of it,” Kouts said. “I was in favor of the one-time funding being used for recreation, and instead staff figured out a way to spend it and take it away from our kids.”
The tentative budget includes $2.4 million for development of a new city park at 8th Street and Discovery Park Boulevard, with the money coming from American Rescue Plan Act funding.
The rest of the $3.2 million in ARPA money is planned for WiFi in the Downtown, airport T-hangers, fiber upgrade along 14th Avenue and purchase of software for the Water Department.
The Pima and Safford councils will be asked to approve their respective final budgets at their next regular meetings.
The Thatcher Town Council adopted the tentative budget in May, and will be asked to approve the town’s final FY23 budget at its meeting Monday, June 20.
