Governor’s staff gives budget overview
Ducey’s reps meet with Yuma leaders
Recovery and restoration is the theme of the 2018-19 state budget, according to Gov. Doug Ducey’s staff visiting Yuma on Friday. They noted that the state is finally recovering jobs and revenues lost during the recession, and schools and counties are also benefiting from the recovery.
Members of Gov. Ducey’s staff presented highlights of the state budget and the governor’s priorities during a business roundtable held Friday morning at the Yuma International Airport Boardroom.
The Yuma County Chamber of Commerce hosted the Legislative Affairs Committee Breakfast with chamber board directors and community leaders, including individuals representing area schools, military, business, agriculture, university and nonprofits.
Katie Fischer, Ducey’s director of legislative affairs, and Kaitlin Harrier, budget manager with the Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting, took questions and discussed issues locals wanted to bring to the governor’s attention. Rep. Tim Dunn, a Yuma farmer, attended the event.
BUDGET OVERVIEW
The $10.4 billion state budget has a spending increase of 5.7 percent and reflects anticipated revenue growth of 4.3 percent in 2019. Indicators support the forecast, with “dramatic improvement” in the three-year gross domestic product forecast. Employment growth has been adjusted from 1 percent to 2.25 percent.
Collection of the transaction privilege tax is up 11 percent over 2017, a tax that reflects the economy and is attributed to what the businesses community has been doing,
EDUCATION
The state budget makes “significant investments” in public education with the governor’s “20x2020” plan, which promises a 20 percent increase in teacher pay over the next several years, with $100 million this year and $371 million phased over five years.
The budget also provides additional funding for career and technical education, with $1.8 million to fully fund all Joint Technical Education Districts. To improve school safety, the budget earmarks $3 million in state funding, $7 million in federal funding for behavioral health specialists and $1.8 million over three years to improve the background check system.
In addition to K-12, the state is investing $27 million in university capital, $8 million for resident student funding and $2.5 million for the Arizona State University School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, Northern Arizona University Alliance Bank Economic Policy Institute and Center for the Philosophy of Freedom at the University of Arizona.
“MOST VULNERABLE”
The budget maintains the governor’s “commitment to the most vulnerable,” Harrier said, with a 2.5 percent increase for hospitals, the first since 2007. It also contains a 3 percent provider rate increase for skilled nursing and supports people with developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s’ funding, critical access hospitals and home and communitybased services.
Public safety remains a priority, Harrier said. The Border Strike Force is receiving $2.9 million for 12 new troopers “to protect critical regions in southern Arizona.” To address the opioid crisis, $800,000 has been earmarked to establish the Arizona Pharmaceutical Diversion Task Force to combat abuse and trafficking of prescription drugs.
Fischer noted that after the governor declared a public health emergency, the state now has access to real-time data for deaths and overdoses without having to wait a year.
“It was worse than we thought,” she said, adding that opioids can be a miracle drug but the problem is the way it’s being prescribed. People are getting too many pills and patients just keep taking pills until the bottle is empty. Studies show that after the third day, the chance that a person will use the drug again doubles and after the sixth day, it doubles again, she said.
RECIDIVISM
The state has been working to keep released inmates out of the prison system, Harrier said. The budget reflects that with $1.7 million to treat substance abuse, which will cover an additional 1,560 inmates.
The budget also has $1.4 million for education services, which will take 486 inmates off the waiting list for classes. The budget also has $500,000 to give 975 inmates the chance to participate in employment center training. They will get help with their resumes and finding job opportunities.
The curriculum helps inmates know what to expect “on the outside.” Harrier noted that for a number of years, released inmates had someone telling them what to do; now they have to make decisions for themselves and might need help doing that.
They are also learning job skills such as construction, an industry that is having a hard time finding enough workers.
Transportation is a huge issue when they first start working, Harrier said. They can’t take the bus to a brand new subdivision because there aren’t routes. The state has entered into an “innovative” partnership with Lyft and Uber. The state will pay for rides for the first two weeks, until they get their first paycheck.
VETERANS
The budget allocates an additional $8 million for a total of $28 million to build veterans homes in Yuma and Flagstaff.
“Both homes will serve veterans and their families in rural areas and bring new jobs to the cities they’re in,” Harrier said.
RELIEF FOR COUNTIES
“Counties are certainly big winners under this budget. Much of this comes -- you guessed it -- by reversing recession era cuts,” she noted.
The budget has $13.1 million to cover 50 percent of judicial salaries for all counties by 2020 and $11.3 million in one-time funding to offset juvenile corrections. The budget has $3.4 million to assist Pinal, Yavapai and Mohave counties and retirement costs for rural counties.
Harrier also noted that the Highway User Revenue Fund sweeps have been permanently eliminated and the goal is to phase out all sweeps.
Attendees asked about the possibility of recovering swept funds. Dunn explained that swept funds are lost. Fischer added that going forward sweeps will be eliminated. Paul Brierley, director of the Yuma Ag Center, pointed out that sweeps reduce trust in government.
OTHER PRIORITIES
The budget contains $26 million for a total of $41 million for preventative highway maintenance, the highest level spent in state history. It earmarks $1 million for capacity expansion of Arizona food banks, especially in rural areas.
It has a $650,000 increase for fire prevention programs for a total of $2 million, and a $500,000 increase for the Arts Commission for a total of $2 million. In addition, it fully funds the caseload growth for Adult Protective Services and Adoption Services.
WATER
Fischer noted that Ducey wants growth and knows that it requires water. The state is working on a Drought Contingency Plan and the governor wants to ensure the water rights of Yumans are protected.
The plan, she added, is to get everyone to the table, find a solution and then go to the Legislature in a unified front.
OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING
Harrier pointed out that the state has a lot of licensing boards that issue licenses to nurses, dentists, emergency medical technicians, etc. Noting that 132 people move to Arizona every day, she said, “We want to make sure people who come here have an easy time getting a license.”
HIGHWAY 95
Col. Ross Poppen berger, commander of Yuma Proving Ground, explained the need to expand the two-lane road into four lanes. He noted the bumper-to-bumper traffic from the 2,400-member workforce, which becomes worse in the winter with the snowbirds, semitrailers and farmworkers.
Fischer said she didn’t know about this problem and that’s why they visit communities -- to learn about local problems. She agreed that YPG is one of the state’s most unique assets.
“Yuma is growing so fast. I’ve heard you,” she said.