Bullhead City Council Special Budget and Regular Meeting – June 18, 2025
Bullhead City Council Special Budget and Regular Meeting – June 18, 2025
Source note: The agenda supplied is a June 12, 2025 cancellation notice for the Parks and Recreation Commission, while the accompanying transcript records a Bullhead City Council special budget meeting followed by a regular council meeting. The transcript identifies the meeting date as Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. and 5:45 p.m.; this summary uses the required June 18, 2025 date and follows the transcript. No minutes were available.
All six council members were present, Vice Mayor Alfonso presided, and all roll-call votes reported were 6-0 in favor.
Consent Calendar
- The council waived the reading in full of all ordinances and resolutions presented for adoption.
- The consent agenda was approved as presented.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Pastor George Lyman, Desert Shores Community Baptist Church, announced the PALS (Parents of Addicted Loved Ones) support group, held Mondays at 6:00 p.m. at 2625 Landon Drive, and gave the church phone number as 928-754-1111.
- Robin, speaking for Tri-State Military Moms, thanked the city for lining Herald’s Highway with flags in recognition of those who fought for freedom and thanked public works for maintaining military banners along Highway 95. She asked that banners removed during construction be reinstalled once the turn lanes are completed.
- A resident discussed federal cuts to veterans, saying the VA’s roughly $916 million annual research investment has contributed to medical breakthroughs and that at least 350 VA researchers will likely lose their jobs; he urged listeners to contact their representatives.
- Stephen Brown, Bullhead Regional Food Bank, invited the public to the June 20, 10:00 a.m. ribbon cutting for the food bank’s expansion.
- Pamela Smith, Colorado River Republican Women, announced a July 2 lunch meeting with Senator Hilde Angus at Chaparral, 1260 Mojave Drive, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with lunch available for $15.
- Grace Hecht announced several community events: food bank packing on Friday and a drive-through food distribution Saturday at 7:00 a.m.; a free community swap at the Bullhead City Library on Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; a community baby shower at Laughlin Ranch with 44 registered mothers; and the Little Sprouts Farmers Market on June 26 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Mojave College.
- Eva Genevieves promoted the 81st annual Republican picnic on July 26 at the Walla Pie Mountains resort [as transcribed], with candidates speaking and raffle tickets available.
- An unidentified commenter said he was sick and tired of people cutting down the VA, argued the VA mainly needs to remove waste, fraud, and abuse, referenced a county official, and asked where AI, solar lights, and Skywatch were in the budget.
- Jack Glenett asked for public decorum, said federal issues were not appropriate for the local council meeting, noted solar lights are on the parkway, and called out what he described as contradictions in comments about surveillance. He thanked the council.
City Manager’s Report
- Summer camp has 836 registrants so far, with one more week of registration available.
- Rotary Park will charge for parking over the July 4th and Labor Day weekends. Bullhead City residents with a city ID are free, and nearby non-residents can buy a $35 season pass; revenue will offset extra maintenance, cleaning, and policing.
- The Nature Center and Ricardo Beach will get admission monitoring during busy weekends because the area was unsafe over Memorial Day weekend and emergency access could not be guaranteed.
- Highway 95 right-turn lane projects: $8 million received, about $1.7 million expended; Mojave Drive has been awarded, Thunderstruck outside Mojave High School is under construction, and Safeway, Meadows Drive, and Laughlin Ranch designs are moving forward.
- The city will ask council to remove some center-lane medians between Ricardo and Central based on an engineering report and requests from many business owners; the medians were installed under ADOT control.
- New skate park amenities requested by the skating community, including quarter pipes, half pipes, pads, turf, and shade structures, are expected to open in early July.
Discussion Items
- FY 2025-26 Final Budget: Finance Director Robert Drexler presented a balanced budget with total expenditures of $193,087,363, general fund expenditures of $50,580,517, over $23 million for public safety, over $20 million for streets and flood control, $31 million in capital utility projects, and $1.5 million in park projects. The city does not collect a property tax. The 650-page budget is posted online. After the public hearing drew no comments, the council approved the budget.
- Board of Adjustment: Christy Fouts, Kenya Crib, and Shannon Henry were appointed to two-year terms beginning July 1, 2025 and expiring June 30, 2027. Fouts spoke in favor of retaining her seat; the other two applicants were not present.
- Building Board of Appeals: Don Albers and Amy Prince were appointed to full terms expiring June 30, 2027. The board will remain inactive until at least one more member is appointed.
- Parks and Recreation Commission: Kenya Crib and Randolph Sierra were appointed to two-year terms; Sierra spoke about his 24 years as a community member and work at the local hospital.
- Planning and Zoning Commission: Four applicants competed for three seats. Stephen Brown received six votes on the first ballot, Bart Anderson received six votes on the second ballot, and Paul Bartha defeated Mel Stein 4-2 on the third ballot. Anderson, Brown, and Bartha were appointed to two-year terms.
- Liquor License: The council held a public hearing and approved a Series 12 restaurant liquor license application by Lynette Donna Reyños for Big Belly Nellies Sports Bar and Grill at 1751 Highway 95, No. 187. Staff had no concerns and no public objections were raised.
- Animal Resource Center: The council approved a rebid with My Alarm Tech LLC for IT wiring, security equipment, and installation at the Bullhead City Animal Resource Center in the amount of $150,000 plus applicable taxes, authorized the city manager to execute the agreement, and transferred $25,000 from general fund contingency. Staff noted the low bid was about $200,000 below the high bid.
- Axon Body-Worn Camera System: The council approved an Axon agreement not to exceed $1,281,067.92 over five years for 83 body-worn cameras, including three new cameras, audio transcription, Draft One AI-assisted report writing, and Respond real-time GPS/camera viewing. Lieutenant Harris said the system had been tested for about three months. In response to public questions, staff said officers must review and sign AI-drafted reports, that they believe the system will pass legal muster, and that it will not speed up video redaction or FOIA fulfillment for body-camera footage.
- FY 2024-25 Budget Amendment: The council approved a $400,000 transfer from general fund contingency to utility/water, pest abatement, public works, and parks and recreation.
- August Meeting Reschedule: The council moved the regularly scheduled August 19, 2025 meeting to Monday, August 18, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. to allow members to attend the Arizona League of Cities and Towns annual conference.
- Council Vacancy Process: Mayor Steve DeMico resigned to accept a position with the Metropolitan Planning Organization. The council directed the city clerk to solicit applications, compile them for review, set the July 15, 2025 regular meeting for consideration and possible appointment, and tentatively schedule a special meeting between July 15 and August 5 for seating the new member and electing a new mayor. Councilmember Head’s process amendment, which set a June 30 application close and a July 1 update, was included in the approved motion.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the FY 2025-26 final budget and the FY 2024-25 $400,000 budget amendment.
- Appointed all commission and board members listed above, with Planning and Zoning filled by Bart Anderson, Stephen Brown, and Paul Bartha.
- Approved the Big Belly Nellies liquor license recommendation.
- Approved the $150,000 My Alarm Tech Animal Resource Center contract and $25,000 contingency transfer.
- Approved the Axon body-worn camera agreement for up to $1,281,067.92 over five years.
- Rescheduled the August 19 council meeting to August 18, 2025.
- Directed the clerk to begin the council vacancy recruitment process following Mayor DeMico’s resignation.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Today is Tuesday, June seventeenth, two thousand twenty-five. It's five thirty PM, and uh we will uh be going through a special council meeting uh before we go to our regular general meeting, which will be at five forty five. Can I have a roll call, please? All council members are present. Very good. Thank you. Can I have a waiver motion? Yes, uh Vice Mayor Alfonso. I have motion to waive the reading in full of all ordinances and resolutions presented for adoption at this meeting. Go ahead and vote. Can I have a second, please? Thank you. Thank you. Six in favor of the motion. Motion carries. Next item. Next item is a public hearing discussion on possible action in accordance with ARS 42-17104. Now is the time for any taxpayer to appear and be heard in favor or against any of the proposed expenditures before the fiscal year 2025-2026 final budget for the Bullhead City, Arizona is adopted as adopted. Vice Mayor Alfonso and Council members, good evening. Uh our annual tradition is having a special budget meeting this time of the year before our regular city council meeting. Uh tonight, our finance director, Robert Drexler will give a very brief summary. Council has spent uh many hours going through our line item budget. As you know, we do not collect a property tax, so our revenues are basically generated from local sales tax, state shared revenue, which is your gas tax, income tax, and state sales tax, along with a variety of of smaller funds uh that we enjoy and receive uh throughout the year. So uh with that, I'll turn it over to our finance director, Mr. Drexler. Happy to answer any questions that you or the public may have. Thank you, City Manager Cotter. Uh, a couple of things I wanted to highlight. Uh so we have a balanced budget with total expenditures up to uh 193 million eighty-seven thousand three hundred and sixty-three dollars. The general fund expenditures are fifty million five hundred eighty thousand five hundred and seventeen dollars. Uh we have over twenty-three million dollars for public safety. We have over twenty million dollars in the budget for streets and flood control. Uh other capital projects, we have thirty-one million dollars in capital utility projects, uh, finishing the animal shelter, the next phase of the community center, and one and a half million dollars in various park projects. As the city manager said, we've spent the last few months going over and through all the line items. The over 650 page document that we've been reviewing is on the city's website under the finance budget reports. Uh also there is a link to an interactive budget website and the state schedules that we're required to submit uh to the state. I stand for any questions. Anyone have any questions? Anyone in the public have any questions? Okay, then I'll take a motion. Vice Mayor Fonso, I do have one comment. Um I just want to say I've spent many hours going over the budget again this year. I have to say another good job by department heads and city management. It's very important to the livelihoods of people who live here that Bullet City stands on solid financial ground. StaffY 2526 budget delivers with surety. As we proceed into the new fiscal year, I want to place an emphasis on top quality workmanship throughout all the projects we undertake. We're building infrastructure that future generations will rely upon and amenities that will improve quality of life. This is a good budget, and I will be voting to approve. With that, I will make a motion to approve.
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