The state and national economy may be slowing down, but the Flagstaff municipal budget is on the fast track.

Pending final City Council approval, more than 56 new employees will be hired next fiscal year, pay and benefits raises will top $2.2 million and overall spending will be up nearly 7 percent.

The reason: Sales tax revenue, the city’s single biggest funding source, is set to rise
nearly 13 percent, thanks to the anticipated openings of the Flagstaff Mall expansion and the auto mall.
Projections supplied by the city include a 22.5 percent increase in car sales when the auto mall opens and 33.5 percent growth in merchandise sales from the mall expansion.

Other big-ticket spending items include $487,000 for round-the-clock police patrols in Sunnyside, a new city attorney and prosecutor for $239,000 and $400,000 to get the aquaplex up and running.

A complete revamp of the city land development code, currently more 30 years old, will cost $250,000.

But not every request was funded. A Sunnyside police substation for $43,000 and adding a fourth firefighter to every initial response team at a cost of $180,000 were panned by the council during budget review sessions last week.

azdailysun.com