County officials call for Legislature to stop shifting costs

Yuma County officials want the state Legislature to stop shifting financial responsibilities to counties.

And they're not alone.

Supervisors from all 15 Arizona counties issued a statement Wednesday calling for an end to the Legislature's shift of state responsibilities to counties.

“Since 2008, the Legislature has passed almost $200 million in state costs to the taxpayers of Arizona's counties,” according to the statement. “Combined with the financial challenges associated with the economic recession, these shifts undermine local control of taxpayer resources and threaten counties' ability to provide local services.

“While we appreciate the magnitude of the state's budget crisis, the Legislature's unrelenting shift of state responsibilities to counties must end.”

Yuma County government released the statement Wednesday.

Supervisors from across the state recently met at the 6th Annual Summit of the County Supervisors Association (CSA) in Graham and Greenlee Counties.

At the summit, Yuma County Supervisors Lenore Stuart, Greg Ferguson and Russell McCloud, along with supervisors from around the state, said an inventory of cost shifts have forced counties to use local tax dollars to pay for state programs.

According to the release, the supervisors listed those programs as:

• Requiring counties to pay for treating certain categories of mentally ill patients in the Arizona State Hospital

• Diverting county road building and maintenance funds to pay for state responsibilities at the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS)

• Eliminating lottery allocations designed to assist rural county services and support local public transportation

• Requiring counties to pay a greater share of state superior court and justice court judge salaries

• Requiring local tax dollars (collected to pay for local services) to be deposited in the state general fund

Yuma County Supervisor Greg Ferguson said the Legislature's cost shifts represent an effort to balance the budget not by cutting spending, but by shifting costs to county governments.

“These cost shifts are neither fiscally responsible nor fair,” he said. “They punish county taxpayers by requiring them to pay for state programs with local tax dollars.”

“What we're seeing is an unprecedented shift of state responsibilities to county governments,” said Navajo County Supervisor David Tenney, who also serves as President of CSA. “With the approach of the new legislative session in January, supervisors are very concerned that the Legislature will transfer even more state responsibilities to counties, including shifting state prisoners to county jails or requiring counties to fund a greater share of the state's health care program.

“We believe that the new Legislature should pursue policies that reform programs and control cost drivers rather than play shell games with the state budget.”

Supervisor Lenore Stuart said the shifts have a real impact on county residents.

“We'll continue to act to keep our budget balanced,” said Yuma County Administrator Robert Pickels. “But if the stream of cost shifts from the state continues, it's unclear whether we will be able to provide county services with the efficiency and effectiveness that our residents have come to expect.”

Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.