Queen Creek Town Council approves reducing primary property tax rate

Reducing the property tax rate is an opportunity to save our residents and businesses money, which is particularly important as people are financially impacted by COVID-19.”

Queen Creek Mayor Gail Barney

The Queen Creek Town Council on June 3 voted unanimously to approve the tentative budget, which sets the expenditure ceiling at $409.1 million, and reduced the primary property tax rate from $1.95 to $1.83 per $100 of assessed value.

“Reducing the property tax rate is an opportunity to save our residents and businesses money, which is particularly important as people are financially impacted by COVID-19,” Queen Creek Mayor Gail Barney said in a release. “The town continues to protect our taxpayers' dollars while providing quality infrastructure and services to the community.”

Since 2007, when the residents of Queen Creek voted to approve a primary property tax not to exceed $1.95 per $100 of assessed property value, the tax rate has remained the same at $1.95 per $100 of assessed property value.

As property values went up, residents and businesses paid more in property taxes and as property values went down, as they did during the Great Recession, property taxes went down, the release states.

As a result of the Town Council’s action, reducing the primary property tax rate to $1.83 per $100 of assessed property value, residents and businesses will pay approximately the same amount of property taxes to the town this year as they did last year. The council’s action will raise an additional $1.5 million from last year, which is due to new construction and annexations, according to the release.

The town’s primary property tax is dedicated for public safety, including fire, law enforcement and emergency medical services.

Excluding special taxing districts, property owners in the Town of Queen Creek pay approximately 14 cents for every $1 in property taxes to the town. The remaining 86 cents goes to public schools, community colleges and Maricopa or Pinal County.

The next steps for the town’s budget include:

• June 17 Town Council meeting: Town Council votes on final budget (all programs and services) after a public hearing.
• July 1, the 2020-21 fiscal year begins, and the approved budget goes into effect.

Visit QueenCreek.org/WatchMeetings for information on upcoming Town Council meetings.

The town continues to prioritize opportunities to make strategic financial decisions. Last year, the town paid off a loan for the town’s portion of the Greenfield Wastewater Reclamation Plant, saving $3.7 million in future interest payments and eliminating a $2.5 million annual payment. As a result, the town reduced monthly rates for wastewater customers. One-time savings over the past five years total $86.6 million, the release states.

For additional information regarding the town’s budget, go to  QueenCreek.org/Budget. View the May 11 Budget Committee meeting at QueenCreek.org. To stay updated on activities follow the town on Facebook @QueenCreek and Twitter @TownofQC.