County Supervisors Association of Arizona

In the October 2, 2009 CSA Update:

Yuma County Debuts New Website
JLBC: Revenues Continue to Lag; Spending Outpaces Revenue
Arizona Counties Welcome Renewable Energy
CSA Summit Draft Schedule
Calendar

Yuma County Debuts New Website

Yuma County introduced a new website this week, designed to make more information available to county constituents in a more accessible and timely way. The new site, designed in partnership with Vision Internet, includes a number of new online services, new content, and a beautiful updated look that showcases the beauty and history of Yuma County.

County Administrator Robert Pickels said “We are extremely proud of the final product and the new quality of service that will be available to Yuma County residents through our redesigned website.” Visitors can now complete a job application online, pay their taxes online, or view a county webcam.

The website is also designed to be easier for county staff to update and maintain. County employees can post new items, review them, and set a date for an automatic removal so that outdated information isn't left on the site.

Check out Yuma County's new home on the web here.

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JLBC: Revenues Continue to Lag; Spending Outpaces Revenue

The latest Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) fiscal report indicates that revenues continue to lag both behind last year's collections and earlier budget projections, while state spending exceeds incoming revenues.

August revenues were down 16.7 percent from August of last year, and year-to-date revenue collections are 17.6 percent below last year. JLBC indicates that while revenues may continue to decline, the current deficit alone will require an additional fix to balance the FY10 budget: "August year-to-date revenues are $81 million less than that forecast, [and] it is unlikely that amount will be recovered in the remaining 10 months."

Additionally, the FY10 budget fix will have to include a solution for the remaining FY09 shortfall, which JLBC estimates at $478 million.

August expenditures included a K-12 rollover payment, boosting state spending above last year's levels. Health care spending in the state continues to grow, driven largely by caseload growth in AHCCCS and DHS programs. JLBC reports that "spending in AHCCCS and DHS is a combined $9.7 million greater year-to-date in 2010 than in 2009."

To read JLBC's Monthly Fiscal Highlights for August, click here.

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Arizona Counties Welcome Renewable Energy

Counties across the state are taking advantage of Arizona's climate and geography as a number of wind and solar energy projects make their way through the planning process.

Mohave County, with lots of open space and proximity to interstates and major transmission lines, has two solar production fields (one scheduled to break ground in 2010) and one wind farm in the works. The first solar project, by Albiasa Solar, will be a 200 megawatt facility south of Interstate 40 and west of Interstate 93. The second project will be a 340 megawatt solar facility 27 miles north of Kingman. Jonas Peterson, Mohave County Economic Development Director, said the projects would provide jobs for workers unemployed by the downturn in the construction industry and increase the county's tax base. He explained that a number of factors, including tax climate, workforce availability, and groundwater availability, affect the county's ability to draw renewable projects.

In Navajo and Apache counties, NZ Legacy LLC is planning a number of wind and solar facilities. The company is currently evaluating whether the area has enough wind to support a wind farm. NZ Legacy is also planning solar projects and focusing on using generation technologies that use groudwater sparingly.

Bob Worsley, CEO of NZ Legacy said, "We believe that Navajo and Apache counties could become the capital of renewables in the Southwest, since the area has been well-known for producing more than 3 GW (gigawatts) of coal generation."

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CSA Summit Draft Schedule

CSA has released a draft of the schedule for the Fifth Annual Legislative Summit. Although some activities are subject to change, the schedule below should help attendees set their travel schedules.

Please click here to register on-line for the CSA Summit. Hotel reservations may be made by calling the Hilton Garden Inn hotel directly at (928) 783-1500. A block of rooms is reserved under “County Supervisors Association of Arizona” with a single government rate of $86 plus tax per night. The room block cutoff is October 9 and the CSA registration deadline is October 15.

Tuesday, September 27

4:00 p.m. Registration

5:00 p.m. Reception

6:30 p.m. Dinner

Speaker: Former Yuma County Supervisor Bob McLendon, Arizona Board of Regents

Wednesday, September 28

7:00 a.m. Small County Caucus

Medium County Caucus

8:00 a.m. Registration

8:30 a.m. Legislative Forecast

Legislative Policy Strategic Planning

Review process guidelines

2010 Budget impacts & budget defense

Discussion and strategic planning

Consideration of legislative proposals

Consent Agenda

Consideration of Proposals

12:00 p.m. Lunch

Speaker: Governor Janice K. Brewer

1:30–

5:00 p.m. Legislative Policy Strategic Planning (continued)

6:00 p.m. Off-Site Dinner: Hosted by Yuma County at the Yuma Territorial Prison

Thursday, September 29

9:00 a.m. Legislative Policy Strategic Planning Wrap-up

Review and finalize strategic plan

CSA Board of Directors Meeting

Formal adoption of strategic plan

Election of 2010 CSA officers

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Calendar

Visit the CSA Calendar of Events at www.countysupervisors.org/calendar

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