Primary property tax rate increases and tuition hikes provide millions for capital projects with little citizen accountability or justification
The Yavapai Community College building boom supported by primary property tax revenue and increased student tuition continues throughout the District with the west side of the County spending millions in renovations, new parking lots, and new construction. Since 2013, when the District Governing Board approved the $103.5 million dollar capital development plan in concept (with less than 5% going to the Verde Valley/Sedona), construction and renovation has been nonstop. This is especially true on the West side of the County. Note, however, that it has spent from $4 to $5 million over the past three years in Sedona trying to fix its public relations nightmare with that community. It has reopened the Sedona Center with a culinary institute that replaces the internationally recognized film school it shut down when it was contemplating selling the Center.
While there have been some changes to the 2013 $103.5 million capital development plan, the changes have not affected the flow of property tax revenue coming to the College that the administration uses for these projects. The changes have had little affect on West County development other than reducing the huge size of potential construction at the Prescott Valley Allied Health/JTED facility.
Recall that the College Administration has increased tuition every year in some form and the property tax rate was raised by the District Governing Board in six of the last twelve years to accumulate the cash to support the building projects. In addition, the College has been over budgeting so that annually excess unspent general fund revenue is transferred into the capital building fund accounts. Finally, recall that under the Administration’s revenue budgeting scheme, its expenditure plan allows it to spend from $6 to $8 million each year of primary property tax revenue on capital projects.
What most County citizens don’t know is that the College administration does not need to justify to County voters or seek their approval for the massive construction/renovation projects it is using their primary property tax revenue to pay for. In the distant past, the College had to seek General Obligation Bond approval from voters before embarking on capital projects. When seeking the bonds, the Administration had to justify the expenditure of the millions of dollars and imposition of a secondary property tax to pay for them. Because of the budgetary scheme the Administration created, that kind of accountability to voters no longer exists. (All the Administration needs is to persuade the highly political Governing Board three west county representatives to vote for the annual budget and the spending spree continues. This group has approved every request from the College since at least 2012.)
Below are photos of some of the current construction/renovation involving buildings #1 & 15 and a sketch of a new atrium under construction on the Prescott Campus. They appear in the September Board meeting Agenda. Estimates are the College is spending from $5 to $6 million alone on these projects.
