It may be early summer before officials know whether current spending plan needs to be adjusted
MOHAVE COUNTY – Mohave County is no different than any other government organization that is trying to gauge possible budget impacts associated with the economy-crippling COVID-19 pandemic. Financial Services Director Coral Loyd said the landscape is uncertain, sometimes changing daily, or even by the hour.
The good news, Loyd said, is that the county got off to a strong start during the first half of the current fiscal year with incoming revenue building a bit of an initial cushion for any conceivable coronavirus catastrophe.
“When we went through the first six months into December we were actually ahead of projections by about $2.5-million,” Loyd said. “I’m hoping that the excess that we went into this (pandemic) is going to be enough to help carry us through the outcome.”
While the county is currently incurring additional cost in the departments most involved in managing the local virus response, Loyd said there are also some savings associated with service delivery and other operations adjustments the county has implemented such as many nonessential employees working from home.
Loyd said staff will closely monitor the current budget and that it might be May or June before county officials know if, or how, the current spending plan might require tinkering. She said it’s not yet clear how much money Mohave County might receive as a result of the federal $2.2-trillion assistance package.
Loyd said greater uncertainty at present looms over preparation of the spending plan for next fiscal year. She said the county has a couple of things working in its favor if the virus imposes a dire impact upon revenue.
Loyd said the county would be able to implement a sales tax if the Board of Supervisors deemed it necessary. She also said supervisors were wise years ago to have department heads list mandatory, essential and discretionary services and that the designations will be helpful if difficult decisions must be made.
- Dave Hawkins
