Bullhead City Council FY 2026-2027 Budget Work Session - April 20, 2026

On April 20, 2026, the Bullhead City Council held a full-day budget work session beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the City Council Chambers to review the proposed FY 2026-2027 budget for all city funds. City Manager Toby Cotter opened by calling the budget a continuation of excellence, highlighting public safety, infrastructure, parks, and employee investments. Finance Director Robert Drexler presented the citywide financial framework, noting that this is the city's 14th year of zero-based line-item budgeting. The session included department-by-department presentations, a lunch break, a capital improvement plan review, and one public comment.

Budget Overview and Revenue Highlights

• City Manager Cotter highlighted prior accomplishments funded through recent budgets, including the Chaparral Golf Course acquisition, the new animal shelter, the Optimum Community Center, parks improvements, traffic signal work, and major water/wastewater projects.
• Finance Director Robert Drexler reported that the state expenditure limit is now $191 million following Prop 416. The proposed budget is balanced as required by state law and includes 36 city funds: 1 general fund, 19 special revenue funds, 3 debt service funds, 6 capital project funds, 4 enterprise funds, and 3 internal service funds.
• The general fund has no property tax. General fund revenues are approximately 46% local sales tax and 40% state-shared revenue, with additional grants, fees, and donations.
• The proposed budget includes 12 new full-time positions: 4 police officers, a stormwater specialist, 3 animal shelter positions, and 4 recreation positions that are budget-neutral conversions from part-time hours.
• The citywide fund balance is projected to remain around $35 million. The general fund cash balance is approximately $23.7 million plus a $10 million water department loan receivable, compared to the city's required minimum reserve of $14 million. The water department is beginning repayment with $25,000 in the proposed budget.
• Council discussed the general fund reserve philosophy, the water loan repayment being built into water rate increases, and the 2.7 million Hancock Road rehabilitation project, which has $1 million in state grant funding and $1.7 million from the general fund.

Municipal Court

• Magistrate Rod Gillio and Deputy Court Administrator Kirsten Merritt presented the court budget of approximately $1.7 million, down almost 0.5%.
• The largest change is a 64% drop in the maintenance agreement, from $139,000 to $50,000, following council-approved courtroom technology upgrades.
• The court will use about $30,000 from its court enhancement fund, currently around $74,000, to replace courtroom tables and lecterns.
• Judge Gillio noted that jail costs are being monitored and no increase was requested. Specialty courts, including Veterans Treatment Court and Quality of Life Court, remain priorities; some training costs will be covered by JCEF funds.
• Council members praised recent improvements in Veterans Court, including the public defender's courtroom presence and nine graduates this year.

Legal Budget

• City Attorney Garn Emery presented a legal budget with very few changes, mostly personnel calculations and software costs for electronic files and redaction work.
• He reported that litigation was prepared against a nuisance structure, but the landowner's demolition team was expected to begin work without the need for the city to sue.
• Council members expressed appreciation for the office's responsiveness, staff, and leadership.

Development Services

• Director Billy, with Wendy and Johnny, presented a 19-employee department budget that is 0.38% lower than the prior year due to savings from online training and about $15,000 saved by handling general plan work in-house.
• Council discussed the department's 14-day or better plan review turnaround and responded to public complaints, noting that some delays are caused by contractors who do not submit complete plans.
• Nuisance abatement and dangerous building abatement budgets were lowered to $50,000 and $150,000; the city manager said normal operations would be covered and larger cases would require contingency.

Public Safety / Police Department

• Interim Police Chief Danny Sharp and Deputy Chief Jason Harms presented the police department budget, which the city manager described as the largest police budget ever brought before council, with over $23 million proposed.
• The budget adds 4 police officer positions, bringing sworn staffing to 86 officers. The department currently has about 15% vacancies, nearly 50% of sworn personnel with less than 10 years of experience, and 3 officers in the academy with 8 more planned for the next class.
• Public safety staffing is intended to restore levels last seen in the early 2000s while population has grown from under 34,000 to over 44,000 residents.
• The request includes 7 patrol vehicles and 3 narcotics vehicles. The last four retired patrol vehicles averaged 16 years of age and 163,000 miles. The budget also includes rifles, Glock 17 pistols, Taser 7 replacements, and 15 ballistic helmets.
• The department responded to over 40,276 calls for police service in the fiscal year, approximately 110 calls per day.
• The city manager and police staff noted that a requested $12 million radio system upgrade was not included in the budget; the city is seeking state funding and is upgrading radios in phases.
• Backup, the opioid settlement-funded program, was highlighted on page 175.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Annette Wegman Wood, a Bullhead City resident, asked about mental health counseling for police officers and whether officers have a fitness program. Police leadership responded that professional counseling is available under Arizona's Laura's Law, peer support exists, and the department is working with Bouldercrest to bring the Struggle Well and Warriors Path programs to Bullhead City. They also confirmed that fitness opportunities are being built into the workweek.
• At the end of the session, no additional public questions were submitted.

Public Works

• Public Works Director Angie Johnson introduced her leadership team and presented the public works budgets.
• A new stormwater specialist position is proposed, described as needed for a state-mandated stormwater management program driven by population growth.
• Facilities maintenance is decreasing by 7.67% as the department focuses on finishing existing projects.
• Parks maintenance added 80 acres to the park system; an AI-assisted robotic field painter has reduced soccer field painting time from over a week to about a day and a half.
• Additional mower leases are proposed to maintain high-quality turf, including Chaparral Golf Course and tournament-quality fields.
• Fleet services includes a $200,000 new field service truck.
• Fuel is budgeted at $2.95 per gallon for unleaded and $3.68 for diesel, based on expectations that fuel prices will decline; the city manager acknowledged risk and said they would return to council if fuel costs do not fall.
• Street sweeping operations and the GoGov/Bullhead City Direct app were discussed as ways residents can request service.

Legislative, City Clerk, Financial Services, and Technology

• The Mayor and Council budget is about $200,000 and is essentially flat, covering stipends, health insurance, and travel/training.
• City Clerk Debbie presented the City Clerk budget, driven by election costs. There are 24,817 registered voters, with registration open until June 22 for the primary. Postage of $6,500 is budgeted for general election pamphlets.
• The clerk's office added funding for staff certifications, an Otter AI subscription to speed meeting minutes, and $2,500 for a new laptop replacing a 15-year-old computer.
• The legislative budget increase is almost entirely due to election costs.
• Financial Services has no proposed staffing or software changes; the 4% increase is mainly personnel costs.
• IT Manager Randy Shefford presented the technology budget. Increases in software and hardware agreements reflect body cameras, cybersecurity features, and subscription cost growth. A network engineer position was budgeted last year and is still being filled.

Executive, Human Resources, Economic Development, Marketplace, Tourism, and Recreation

• The executive budget increased 42.76% because the recreation division was moved into the executive department from public works; this also explains the utilities increase on the referenced page.
• Public Information: GoGov notifications, called Bullhead City Direct, had a large percentage increase because the annual cost was higher than expected, about $2,400. The team creates TV coverage, social media, website content, and event coverage.
• Human Resources and Risk Management: Director Candon Stanley presented a $9.23 million budget, up 14.86%, driven by rising insurance and risk costs, NeoGov technology, and recruitment/retention efforts.
• Economic Development: The budget is reduced under economic development initiatives. The city manager cited Dot Foods as a successful incentive recipient and said a new incentive may be brought to council later.
• Marketplace: Manager Ann Roberts oversees marketplace operations, including rentals, the River Shop, parking, the Bullhead Bell, Optimum Community Center, the new animal shelter store, and Chaparral Golf Course. Staffing ranges from about 50 to 80 employees depending on season.
• Tourism and Sponsorships: Jackie Jensen's tourism budget is essentially flat; about $200,000 in sponsorship revenue was generated over the past year.
• Recreation: Dave Heath and Eddie Edgar presented recreation, including the Optimum Community Center, water activities, special events, and park rangers. A recreation coordinator position was created budget-neutrally by converting part-time dollars. The farmers market budget is growing, and an additional market is planned.
• Boys & Girls Club: The proposed budget reduced annual funding from $100,000 to $50,000. One council member strongly opposed funding, citing management and accountability concerns. Other council members and the city manager recommended keeping $50,000 so the organization could return to council for review before receiving funds. The consensus was to keep the $50,000 in the budget with the requirement that the Boys & Girls Club come before council to provide transparency and demonstrate improved management.
• Park Rangers: The proposal converts some part-time park ranger positions into three full-time positions to better protect parks. A senior park ranger will remain part-time, and full-time rangers will be trained for future leadership.

General Services

• Robert Drexler presented general services with corrections to pages that did not transfer correctly in the printed version.
• The budget includes a $15 million general grants placeholder, telephone service of $147,444, office equipment leases of $85,080, office supplies of $39,850, and postage of $50,760.
• General fund contingency is reduced to $2 million. Transfers to special revenue funds drop from about $2.1 million to $1.1 million, and transfers to capital projects increase to $5,937,876.
• The city pays a $112,000 state firefighter premium despite having no fire department because state law requires it.
• Tuition reimbursement is reduced from $25,000 to $15,000.

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

• Travis Pruitt and Steve Diamico presented the MPO budget. The MPO is federally funded and reimbursed through the state.
• The MPO secured a $1.76 million SS4A grant: $1 million for a regional safety study and $760,000 for demonstration projects, including cameras on Highway 95 signals, speed trailers, and lighted school crossing beacons. A separate SMART grant is being sought to cover the 20% match.
• Additional funding includes $39,000 for transit radios and a $1 million HERF exchange to help rehabilitate Baseline Road.
• A long-range transportation plan RFP is out with an April 28 deadline; a short-range transit plan will include public input opportunities.

Human Services

• Jeff Tipton presented human services with a total budget of $5,300,230, down about 18% from $6,522,000, largely due to how prior animal shelter construction costs were reported.
• Senior enrichment is up 4% to $755,000; nutrition is up 11% to $597,000, with nearly 40,000 meals served annually. A replacement vehicle is budgeted for the meals program.
• The animal shelter, now called the Bullhead City Animal Resource Center, is up 41% to $922,000 but provides about three times the space and 162% more animal housing capacity. Cremation services are budgeted at $391,000 and are expected to generate offsetting revenue.
• Transit is up 6% to $2,215,000, including a grant-funded radio system upgrade and a $225,000 bus. The short-range transit plan will evaluate route changes, including possible service to McCormick, post office, senior center, and library stops.

Utilities

• Water/Wastewater Director Mark Clark and his staff presented the enterprise utility budgets.
• The city has 48 pressure zones compared to Lake Havasu City's 3, and the department runs lean; Lake Havasu City has about 80 utility employees for a similar-sized system.
• Bullhead City holds a 29,149 acre-foot Colorado River water entitlement but used only about 11,500 acre-feet last year. Future river cuts cannot be predicted, but the city has enough entitlement for substantial growth.
• Major achievements include a new well producing about 5,000 gallons per minute and completion of many mainline and service line repairs. The system loses about 35 million gallons a year due to breaks.
• Wastewater: The Section 10 plant expansion from 4 to 6 million gallons per day is underway, with the aeration basin half poured. The headworks project is substantially complete. Odor control improvements are planned for the Lakeside/post office area.
• Performance metrics: water connections per employee are 1,390 versus the AWWA 75th percentile of 543; wastewater connections per employee are 1,300 versus 608.
• The proposed budget includes a new CMMS maintenance system, split between water and wastewater, with estimated annual costs around $65,000 plus implementation. Staff are evaluating systems with AI and predictive maintenance capabilities.
• Backflow services are increasing 233% due to new regulatory attention and a newly hired water quality specialist.
• The water department will begin repaying the $10 million general fund loan with a $25,000 payment in the next fiscal year.
• Council asked about water pressure complaints; staff said the system's 48 pressure zones reflect legacy infrastructure and that fixes are identified in the water master plan but will take time and funding.

Capital Improvement Plan

• Staff reviewed capital projects on pages 480-662, including water, wastewater, parks, streets, buildings, equipment, and vehicle purchases.
• Notable projects include animal shelter conversion, transit facility planning placeholders, Baseline Road rehabilitation, Highway 95 right-turn lanes, city center improvement district work, community park restrooms with grant funding, ADA ramps, Chaparral Golf Course clubhouse improvements, Lake Mojave Highlands drainage work, land acquisition near the airport, and the proposed indoor pickleball/multi-purpose facility at Optimum Community Center.
• The indoor pickleball facility is estimated at $1.55 million and is expected to be a general fund project because grant timelines and competing priorities make grant funding unlikely.
• Traffic signal upgrades include $150,000 for new camera systems on Highway 95. Council clarified the system is not a red light camera or license plate reader program; it is intended to improve traffic flow and provide safety data.
• Utility capital projects total roughly $26 million, funded through utility revenues. The city is planning a combined water/wastewater revenue pledge for future utility bonds.
• Robert Drexler noted that the capital lease line in the printed budget actually reflects the proposed approximately $21 million utility bonds and will be relabeled in the revised version.

Key Outcomes

• The work session concluded with no formal votes, as this was a discussion session.
• The tentative budget will be considered for adoption at the May 19, 2026 regular council meeting. Budget schedules will be published May 27 and June 3, 2026, and final adoption is scheduled for June 16, 2026.
• Council consensus was to keep $50,000 for the Boys & Girls Club in the proposed budget, requiring the organization to present to council before funds are released.
• Staff will correct the printed budget pages that did not transfer properly and will relabel the utility debt as bonds rather than capital leases.
• The proposed budget includes 12 new full-time positions, including 4 police officers, 3 full-time park rangers, a stormwater specialist, and animal shelter/cremation staff, along with major water, wastewater, and capital investments.