Proposed 2021 budget to cut millions from City of Yuma spending

FY 2021 budget reworked following COVID-19 crisis

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Surveys from the U.S. Conference of Mayors show nearly every city across the nation with a population over 50,000 will see a revenue decline this year.

Yuma is no exception.

Comparing the first three months of 2020 to the same time last year, the City of Yuma reports revenues for the city were tracking ahead of expectations; that is until the unexpected hit of COVID-19.

Now a decline is anticipated by default.

Philip Rodriguez, the city administrator for the City of Yuma, said in Wednesday night's city council meeting, “Even for those of us who have been in the field for a number of years and have created budgets for cities. There is no good playbook for this right now.”

No city in the country was truly prepared for the force of the financial impact this global pandemic has caused.

As normal, the City of Yuma started working on the upcoming fiscal year budget in December.

Blindsided by the COVID-19 crisis, the working budget was completely scratched.

Rodriguez says the city was bargaining for a budget surplus but is now forecasting a dense decline in spending.

How steep of a spending cut?

A proposed $11.2-million reduction from non-grant funded expenditures.

Rodriguez said, “We did predict and project on the revenue side but I can tell you that the expenditure side is really where we felt like we had any control what so ever."

Adding, "We have almost no control over what's going to happen on the revenue side going forward.”

There is always a potential margin of error as no one knows what lies ahead with this pandemic.

The city is carving out 18% of next year's general fund for emergency reserves, in addition to a 2% budget stabilization reserve.

Rodriguez closed his budget presentation saying, “We’re planning to recover when this is all said and done. We’re going to be in a position financially where we can still not only be in good solid ground but that we can also rebound much quicker than other communities as well.”

Also part of this initial proposal, an estimated $23-million of proposed Capital Improvement Programs (CIP) scheduled to be recovered through grants, reimbursements, and or public-private partnerships.

Considering Friday begins the first phase of local businesses reopening, the city council will weigh-in and navigate the unknowns of this proposed budget cut at its next work-session later this month.