Today, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted its $2.356BFY 2017 budget. The budget is increased by $116.8M (5.2%) from FY 2016, adds funding for more criminal justice and public safety, including a new juvenile court, 13 adult probation staff – with a possibility of 12 more as needed – and increased prosecution costs, including more than $1M for child abuse, sexual assault, and strangulation exams.
Maricopa County Total, Operating Budget, FY 2017 and FY 2016 (millions)
FY 2016 FY 2017 (Increase) (Decrease) Total Budget $2.239.2 $2,356.0 $(116.8) -5.2% Operating Budget $1773.9 $1,824.7 $(50.8) -2.9% Maricopa County spending per capita is 70% lower than the average comparable county.
More than half of the total budget is for public safety and criminal justice. It includes one additional Juvenile Court to address the increase in juvenile court cases. Several capital improvement projects are planned, such as the continued funding to replace the aging Durango Jail and intake center, which will significantly reduce time and costs of inmate transfers and relocations. Four courtrooms will be added to the East Court Building, and construction on the Southwest Regional Justice Center will finish this year. An adaptive reuse project on the Madison Street Jail is also planned.
Since 2008, the County has paid more than $302M in mandated cost shifts or direct contributions to the State as a result of legislative action to balance the state budget. The shifts are cost-sharing for the State Department of Juvenile Corrections and the State Department of Revenue, as well as Superior and Justice Court salary increases.
In FY 2017, that cost is projected to be $31.1M. While there has been one-time relief provided by the State in this year’s cost-sharing for Juvenile Corrections ($4.8M) and Highway User Revenue Funds – HURF ($4.2M), the County has worked these costs into the final budget because they are likely to return next year and going forward.
The total operating costs at MCSO for implementation of the Melendres v. Arpaio order for FY 2017 are projected to be $10.2M (there is a reduction of more than $4M for moving overtime from this cost center back to the General Fund). The cost of the court monitor is projected to be $3M, which brings the total budgeted for FY 2017 to $13.2M. These costs include: training, outreach meetings, data collection and analysis software and hardware, development and implementation of an early intervention system, and bi-lingual pay.