The Queen Creek town council has approved a preliminary $487.2 million budget for fiscal year 2021-22 that includes $15 million in placeholder funds for the purchase and design of parklands.
The budget is a 19% increase, or $78.1 million, above fiscal year 2020-21. There is a reduction in construction sales tax of $5.6 million and is offset by revenue increases in other areas. Also, many projects are carry forwards from the fiscal year 2020-21.
The council is scheduled to give final approval to the budget on May 19.
The bulk of the budget, $323.2 million, or 66%, is slotted for infrastructure, something especially needed for the town’s exploding population. The increase in infrastructure funding over fiscal year 2020-21 is $38.3 million, with most of it going to transportation infrastructure.
The town’s combined operating and enterprise/utilities budgets budget increased from $97.9 million the previous fiscal year to $110.3 million. Almost 33% of the operating budget will come from sales taxes, excluding construction sales tax.
State-shared revenues and property taxes comprise 34% of the operating budget. Under the new budget, construction sales taxes are expected to drop from $14.1 million in fiscal year 2020-21 to $8.5 million in fiscal year 2021-22.
That drop is caused mainly by the reductio from an expected slowdown in new home construction due to timing of new home sales and new subdivisions coming online.
However, the assessed value of existing property and new construction is expected to increase by $69.3 million to $605 million or 13% above fiscal year 2020-21.
A point of contention among some council members was the keeping tax levy rate at $1.83 per $100 of assessed value, bringing the city an annual revenue of $11 million for fiscal year 2021-22. As property values rise, a home assessed at $246,000 would generate property taxes of $448.
The largest operating revenue outlay is town personnel at $40.1 million.
Also adding to town's costs is the creation of the new Queen Creek Police Department. Shifting to its own police department next year will see the town spending $19.2 million as it continues to pay for MCSO coverage while building its department.
For 65 new Queen Creek Police Department full times hires, the budget allows $8.7 million and there will be an additional $1.7 million for operating expenses for the 2021-22 budget year.
The money for the police department will pay for 71 full-time positions, including 58 police officers. It will also pay for needed equipment.
Along with keeping the assessed property value levy at $1.83, some town council members objected to the $15 million placeholders for parklands.
The plan was for Queen Creek to have 40 acres of parks for every 10,000 residents, but the town's population explosion threw those plans for a loop.
Now the town’s Parks and Recreation Department is hoping Queen Creek’s upcoming budget will include funds for it to continue its plans for more parks land as its population approaches 68,500.
Currently, Queen Creek only has three city parks: Desert Mountain Park, Trails at Horseshoe Park and phase one of Mansel Carter Oasis Park. There also is the much smaller Founder’s Park. That's a total of 179 acres of completed park land.
Residents may be asking for more parks, but Parks & Recreation is putting together a survey to see if residents believe the time is right for more parks or if they are still interested in infrastructure such as roads.
Four parcels of land purchased by the town remain idle. The land has been set aside for East Park, Desert Wells Park, Sossaman Cloud Park and Sonoqui/San Marquis Park. There are also 13 acres of land ready to be developed for phase two of Mansel Carter Oasis Park for a total of 165 acres of unused land.
Counsel member Julia Wheatley sided with the majority of the council in approving the budget. She added that residents “are clamoring for more parks because the ones we have are just so full.”
Editor's note: This version of the story includes clarifications on various budget numbers and services.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley @AzNewsmedia
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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