Buckeye will carry $263.2 million in unfinished projects into fiscal year 2027 — roughly a third of the city's total budget — while creating a dedicated fund to track marijuana tax revenue separately from the general fund.

The carryover total, detailed in the city's tentative budget adopted May 19. covers road work, equipment purchases, and development reimbursements that were budgeted in prior years and still are not complete.

"Projects that were budgeted in fiscal 2026 — some were budgeted in 2025, carried over to 2026 — we are planning on completing those projects that will carry over into fiscal 2027," Chief Financial Officer Keith Fallstrom told the council, as reported by the West Valley View.

The city manager's recommended budget, before adding carryover, totaled $501.7 million. Combined with the $263.2 million carryover, the tentative budget reached $765.4 million — about $54 million less than the prior year's tentative budget of $819.7 million. Most of the reduction came from fewer new construction projects.

New marijuana fund

The budget creates a separate fund for revenue from Proposition 207, the 2020 ballot measure that legalized recreational marijuana in Arizona. Cities and counties receive a share of the state's 16 percent excise tax on marijuana sales.

"To increase transparency, we have created this other fund," Fallstrom said. "The revenue will go in there and be spent out of that fund." Previously, marijuana tax money was mixed into the general fund, making it harder to track how much came in and where it went.

Population update

City officials updated Buckeye's population estimate to the low 130,000s, up from an official estimate of about 120,000. Vice Mayor Clay Goodman asked about the impact on state-shared revenue — Arizona distributes a portion of income and sales tax collections to cities based on population.

Staff estimated the increase could generate roughly $2 million in additional state-shared revenue once reflected in state population calculations.

The final budget adoption is scheduled for the June 2 City Council meeting, alongside a Truth-in-Taxation hearing on the property tax levy.