Bisbee City Council Meeting Summary May 19, 2026

May 20
4 min read

Opening & Routine Business

The meeting opened with roll call, pledge of allegiance, and three public comments covering: the bed tax fund's intended use for tourism marketing, First Amendment protections in local government, and a call for Bisbee to adopt an ICE non-cooperation policy similar to Pima County's.

Council quickly approved accounts payable ($314,663), the consent agenda (minutes, a parks committee resignation, Fourth of July parade permit with fee waiver, and an inmate work contract), all without significant debate.

Key Business Items

Wastewater Rate Increase (R-2613): Approved unanimously. Rates will increase over a six-year period to fund plant upgrades. Council noted the delay was partly pandemic-related and flagged low-income rate options for qualifying residents.
Pension Funding Policy (R-2612): Approved. The city now has over 100% funding ratio after years of deficit, aided by refinancing at lower interest rates.
CFO Designation (R-2611): Carrie Bagley formally designated as Chief Financial Officer for FY2027 per state statute.
Employee Benefits Renewal: Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance renewed at a 12% increase (down from a proposed 17%). Dental and vision rates held steady. 85 of 113 employees enrolled in healthcare.
Arts Commission Grants: Three small grants approved — $500 for the Colha Women's Music & Art Festival, $500 for a local indie film, and $398 for KBRP live music equipment. Council agreed to move future arts grants to the consent agenda.
30 Main Street Cleanup (Item 10): Approved a $150,000 Brownfields subgrant from Cochise County for environmental remediation. RFP expected to go out June 9, with bids due July 9 and cleanup likely starting September. Work expected to take 6–8 weeks, potentially with night-only lane closures.
Camp Naco Kitchen Design (Item 11): Approved a $3,864 change order for Arizona Restaurant Supply to assist with commercial kitchen layout in the historic mess hall building, funded in part by a National Park Service grant.
Police Copier Lease (Item 12): Approved a new 60-month lease with Ricoh USA — slightly cheaper than the previous contract.
Inmate Labor Rate Increase (Item 13): Approved raising the rate for Arizona Dept. of Corrections inmate workers from $0.50/hour to $1.00/hour for public works, parks, and wastewater crews. The police department chose to remain at $0.50 due to budget constraints. The city uses 21–25 inmates daily and found retention dropping as other municipalities and ADOT began paying more.
Council Vacancy (Item 14): Council member Lori Reynolds' resignation accepted. Applications for her seat will open immediately, with a special session to appoint a replacement on June 16th. The appointment will serve a full two-year term.

Last 30 Minutes — The Two Major Debates

💰 Bed Tax Fund Transfer — Item 15 (Failed — No Motion)

This was the meeting's most contentious item. The resolution proposed transferring $140,576.97 back from the Capital Improvements Fund to the Bed Tax Fund, reversing a prior transfer that had been earmarked for a visitor center at 30 Main Street — a project that is no longer moving forward.

The complication: Mayor Budge and others wanted to keep the money in Capital Improvements and potentially redirect it toward the Bisbee Bikeways project, which recently came in over budget. The bikeways project has a $4.5 million grant (described as exceptional and unlikely to recur) and needs a funding cushion for contingencies. The mayor proposed using ~$100,000 of this money as a reserve buffer, with the option to borrow additionally from Mine Tour funds (to be repaid over four years).

Arguments for returning the money:

Council member Schumacher and others argued the money had a specific original purpose and simply should go back.
Council member Mel argued the bed tax framework was becoming too loosely interpreted — "we can make anything sound like tourism" — and that the mine tour fund was the better vehicle for supporting bikeways.
Council member Schumacher raised a legal concern: the money was moved via budget resolution for a specific project, and redirecting it to an entirely different project was questionable.

Arguments for keeping it in Capital Improvements:

The bikeways project qualifies as a tourism use (the city attorney noted Flagstaff and Gilbert both use portions of their bed tax funds for trails and bikeways)
The grant is time-sensitive and at risk; losing a $4.5M grant over a funding gap would be a significant loss.
Mayor noted the bed tax fund already has $250,000 in reserves — enough to sustain marketing operations — so returning this money isn't urgent.

Outcome: No motion was made. The item failed without a vote, and the money remains in the Capital Improvements Fund for now, with the implicit understanding it may be tapped for bikeways if needed.

📋 DMO RFP Rescission — Item 17 (Passed 6–1)

Council voted to rescind the pending DMO (Destination Marketing Organization) contract — which had been offered to a firm called "HAPI" — and reject all bids, directing staff to reissue a new RFP as quickly as possible.

Why: Two bid protests were filed, including one from Bisbee Forward. The city attorney clarified that, contrary to what he said at the prior meeting, the council had not formally awarded the contract — it was only discussed — so the protests were deemed timely and valid.

The new RFP was distributed to council at the meeting. It is nearly identical to the prior one, with a few added sentences clarifying that the RFP seeks DMO services from agencies qualifying under Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) rules, including agencies that provide no direct city services (i.e., the city itself could serve as the designated DMO).

Council member Schumacher voted nay, expressing frustration at receiving the revised RFP the same evening and reiterating her longstanding concern that the city hasn't worked out how the DMO relationship will actually function before going back out to bid.

The mayor noted a Tourism Advisory Board had been planned for this agenda but was pulled due to the protests. If this rescission holds, staff will bring the tourism board back at the next meeting.

City Manager's Report

The city pool opens Friday (water at 76°F); kudos to public works for getting it ready on time.
Hillcrest property will go back out for bids.
The Friends of the Pool fundraiser is legitimate — they're raising money to extend the season past August into September.