Consideration and Approval: Primary Property Tax Levy of $7,801,497 in FY 2026-27 by roll call vote.

AND

Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2026-13: An ordinance levying upon the assessed valuation of the property within the City of Flagstaff, Arizona, subject to taxation a certain sum upon each one hundred dollars ($100.00) of valuation sufficient to raise the amount estimated to be required in the annual budget, less the amount estimated to be received from other sources of revenue; providing funds for various bond redemptions, for the purpose of paying interest upon bonded indebtedness and providing funds for general municipal expenses, all for the Fiscal Year ending the 30th day of June 2027.  (Primary and secondary property tax levies for FY 2026-27).
 

The City Council is required to consider a motion to levy increased primary property taxes over the preceding year's tax levy plus new construction, by roll call vote, per A.R.S. Section 42-17107.

The City Council is required to fix and levy the amount to be raised from property taxation after the adoption of the final budget, per A.R.S. Section 42-17151.  The final budget is anticipated to be adopted on June 16, 2026.

The City is proposing a primary property tax levy of $7,767,483 on existing properties, plus an increased levy of $34,014 on new construction, for a total primary property tax levy in FY 2026-27 of $7,801,497.  The primary property tax rate to support this levy is 0.6207 per $100 of assessed valuation (an increase of 0.0162 over the prior year). The proposed levy is less than the maximum allowable primary property tax levy allowed for FY 2026-27, which is $8,383,436.

The City is proposing a secondary property tax levy of $9,552,341 in FY 2026-27 on existing properties and new construction.  The proposed secondary property tax rate is 0.7600 per $100 of net assessed valuation (a decrease of 0.0400 over the prior year).

Adoption of the proposed property tax levies will generate revenues to help fund the community needs as identified in the FY 2026-27 Final Budget and policies reflected therein.

• December Council Retreat on December 19, 2025
• February Budget Retreat on February 5, 2026
• Council Budget Work Session on April 23, 2026
• Tentative Budget Adoption on June 2, 2026

1) Adopt the primary and secondary property tax rates as proposed.
2) Adopt lower primary and secondary property tax rates than proposed. 
3) Adopt higher secondary property tax rates than proposed, however, Council can not increase the primary property tax rates due to Truth in Taxation Notice publication deadlines or other legal considerations.

Primary property tax revenues may be used for all purposes.  Primary property tax levies are limited, per A.R.S. Section 42-17051.  The City has the ability to increase the amount received from the primary property tax levy by a maximum of 2% each year excluding new construction. The maximum allowable increase for FY 2026-27 is 14.0%.  FY 2026-27 proposed primary property tax levy is set at $7,801,497, which is less than the maximum allowable levy of $8,383,436.

Primary property tax levies are also subject to Truth in Taxation notice and hearing requirements, per A.R.S. Section 42-17107.  On or before February 10 of each year, the county assessor must transmit to each city and town an estimate of the total net assessed valuation of the city, including new property added to the tax roll. If the proposed primary tax levy amount, excluding amounts attributable to new construction, is greater than the levy amount in the previous year, the city must follow the Truth in Taxation procedures. It is important to note that it is the levy amount and not the rate which triggers the Truth in Taxation procedures. The proposed FY2026-27 primary tax levy amount did trigger the Truth in Taxation procedures. A copy of the Truth in Taxation notification is attached. 

The City is budgeting primary property tax revenues of $7,708,000 in its FY 2026-27 Budget.  This budgeted amount is less than the levy amount because the City is allowing for approximately 1.0% in bad debt (taxes not able to be collected). The City anticipates an overall 7.5% increase in primary property tax revenues in FY 2026-27, due to the increase from new construction (properties added to tax roll) and the increased rate.  Primary property tax revenues may be used for any general purpose use of the City government.  

Secondary property tax revenues may only be used by cities and towns to retire the principal and interest or redemption charges on general obligation bonds issued to pay for capital projects. Secondary property tax levies are not limited.  The City has budgeted a total of $9,552,341 in FY 2026-27 secondary property tax, an approximate 0.6% decrease over the FY 2025-26 budget ($9,613,775).  The decrease is directly related to the increased assessed valuation (increase in property values) and new construction offset by a decrease to the tax rate.   Secondary property tax revenues are used to pay general obligation debt issued for City capital projects. 

Five years of historical data are shown below:

Property Tax Rates	FY 2022-23	FY 2023-24	FY 2024-25	FY 2025-26	FY 2026-27 Proposed
Primary	0.6954	0.6634	0.6363	0.6045	0.6207
Secondary	0.8000	0.8000	0.8000	0.8000	0.7600
Total	1.4954	1.4634	1.4363	1.4045	1.3807

Primary property taxes account for 8.0% of the General Fund revenues budgeted for FY 2026-27. The adoption of the property tax levy is the final step in the entire budget approval process.

The adoption of the Annual Budget and Financial Plan provides direction and financial resources to support the Key Community Priorities and Objectives.  The property tax adoption is part of the overall City budget adoption.

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