The Chandler City Council recently initiated the first of a series of work sessions centered around planning for the fiscal year 2025-2026. The aim? To devise an operating budget and capital improvement program that promise to sustain the city's reputation for delivering high-quality services and public infrastructure, all while keeping a handle on costs for its residents. Keeping utility service costs among the lowest in the Valley, Chandler also boasts the lowest sales tax rate in Arizona.
Drawing from the annual budget survey results that revealed residents' satisfaction with their quality of life and safety, the council noted the community's spending preferences. According to the report from the City of Chandler, priorities included bolstering parks and recreation, public safety, streets, and social services. These surveyed desires are instrumental as the ground upon which next year's fiscal decisions will be built.
Not unheard of in budgetary circles, Chandler has made a name for itself through sound financial practices. With AAA bond ratings across all agencies, resulting in savings for taxpayers when financing capital improvements, Chandler has managed to uphold strong financial reserves and a structurally balanced budget. In this budgetary dance, ongoing revenues are matched with ongoing expenditures, while one-time revenues get channeled into one-time expenditures.
However, not all the upcoming year's budgetary constellations are so clearly navigated. The council highlighted a number of factors that could perturb the financial fabric of Chandler – among them, national and local economic indicators and inflationary pressures poised to affect both revenues and costs. Some of the issues, like an anticipated steady local economic growth with employers blooming and building permits valued at a handsome $150 million being issued, inspire optimism. But other factors, as the city's report indicated, brought to bear concern, such as the freeze of federal funds, which bolster the city's public housing and related services.
Further complicating the revenue picture are state-led decisions, one of which is the axing of residential rental taxes as of January this year. Eyes also remain fixed on a legislative proposal around state food tax, an action that could carve an estimated $17 million from Chandler's ongoing revenue stream. While these factors get a closer inspection, the council offered some tentative direction on the pressing matters of operating and capital priorities and the property tax rates meant to fund large-scale city improvements. Amidst these fiscal considerations, an update emerged on the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, signaling Chandler's status as the largest Arizona city to have settled its share of the pension's unfunded liability.
