SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — The City of Sierra Vista is figuring out how a flat income can keep up with increasing costs as it works on its budget for the next fiscal year.
"We're looking at the most difficult budget that we've experienced, probably since the great recession," Victoria Yarbrough said.
Yarbrough is the assistant city manager for the City of Sierra Vista.
The city has $135 million for its upcoming budget, which is about $70 million less than it was last year. Changes at the state level have caused the city’s budget to shrink by $4 million.
"We're still early enough in the process that I have faith that our team is going to find a way to get things done and to present a balanced budget to our council, but it's definitely going to be a tough year," Yarbrough said.
"The smaller projects are the ones that will end up on the chopping block just because we can't fit them in," Yarbrough said.
The biggest change from last year is about $50 million worth of grant funds, since every dollar the city applies for has to go into the budget.
"As time has gone by, it's gotten clear what grants we have a chance for and which ones we don't. And so that's why you're seeing the budget drop significantly year to year, because we're narrowing down what grants we're going to go for," Yarbrough said.
As of now, the city is budgeting $3 million for Roadrunner Park, with half being paid for with a grant. The budget also includes the design for the expansion of Fire Station 4 and leasing the Rothery Center from the Sierra Vista Unified School District. This is on top of daily expenses, including personnel.
"It's a giant puzzle that we have all these different pieces, and some of the pieces are still face down, and you don't know, and you're trying, and they're like different colors because they're different funds, and you have to make it all work together," Yarbrough said.
Community members can learn more about the budget during the city’s work sessions.
"We have a lot of opportunities for public comment, and we take those comments very seriously," Yarbrough said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
