SAFFORD — On Monday, the Safford City Council unanimously approved the final budget for the upcoming fiscal year, at $78.9 million.
The budget is up 6.8 percent over last year’s adopted budget of $73.9 million.
The council also discussed the property tax levy. For the third year in a row, the city is keeping the primary property tax levy rate at 0.5135 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.
However, interim Finance Officer Rob Sweeney said the city will actually collect more than last year, due to increased home valuations.
“Keeping the rate at that 0.5135, and then having the assessed valuation go up, then creates a levy increase of approximately $14,000 more than just for new construction,” Sweeney said.
The council will be asked to adopt the tax levy rate at its next meeting.
Multiple members of the council praised staff for the budget process this year, saying it was easy to understand.
