Leo Lew, County Manager
Pinal County, Arizona
Pinal County, Arizona
Learn about the latest News & Events for Pinal County, AZ, and sign up to receive news updates.
Add this issuer to your watchlist to get alerts about important updates.
Learn about the latest News & Events for Pinal County, AZ, and sign up to receive news updates.
On Tuesday morning, Supervisors Cavanaugh, McClure, and Miller, as well as Coolidge Mayor Jon Thompson and Eloy Mayor Micah Powell, celebrated the groundbreaking of infrastructure improvements to Hanna Road and Houser Road surrounding the Inland Port (IPAZ) Property on the Coolidge-Eloy border.
In 2019, the City of Eloy, the City of Coolidge, and Pinal County were issued Federal Highway Funding to make these improvements in order to enhance economic development. The Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD Transportation Discretionary Grant program, provides a unique opportunity for the Local Governments to invest in road, rail, transit, and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives. The project is expected to take around a year to complete. For more information on the project, visit https://bit.ly/BUILD-IPAZ
Historically, the Finance Department and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) were organizationally separate departments in Pinal County - Finance focusing on transactional processing, recording, reporting compliance, grants, and procurement; while OMB has focused on financial planning, financial management, and operation resources.
The two departments' functions have many shared customers and opportunities for synergies. The County Manager's Office has made the decision to merge the two departments into one. Angie Woods, the current Director of the Office of Management and Budget, will lead the two teams, effective immediately.
Angie joined Pinal County in 2008. She has served in accounting roles in both the Public Health and Information Technology departments. Angie began working for the Office of Management and Budget in 2013 as a Management and Budget Analyst. In 2018, she was promoted to Director. Angie has her Bachelor of Science and Master's Degrees in Business-Accounting.
Deputy County Manager MaryEllen Sheppard said of the appointment, "Angie is a competent and dedicated professional and has consistently demonstrated her commitment to the vision and mission of Pinal County and each of its Offices and departments. We all know and appreciate her spirit of teamwork and customer service. We are grateful for her willingness to take on this expanded role and are confident in her future success and that of the teams she will lead."
The 60,000 sq. ft, $22 million building took around eighteen months to construct and will house around 150 staff. For the first time, the County Attorney's Criminal Prosecution division, Administration, and Victim Advocates team will all be located in one building. Previously staff were housed in a number of locations across Florence. These locations will now be repurposed for other County Departments.
County Attorney Kent Volkmer said, "I want to thank everybody that was involved with this 18-month project, particularly the taxpayers. While a beautiful building that will serve us for a really long time, we did everything we could to ensure they receive value for their taxpayer dollars. My hope is that this stands as a beacon of justice for our community, and when they see it, people will think that this represents our community's commitment to justice and fairness."
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Jeffrey McClure said, "There's a certain loss of efficiency of operations when staff are spread across multiple locations. Here, with staff all in the same building, and you're right here at the Courthouse, it cuts down a lot of travel time from other locations across Florence. So it's really great for efficiency."
Click Here to watch video
The Census Bureau released its population data this week from the 2020 Census, with Pinal County showing a total population of 425,264, an increase of 49,494 from 2010, but significantly less than the 462,789 estimated in 2019.
Queen Creek and Marana, primarily located in Maricopa County and Pima County respectively, showed the largest percentage increases, while San Tan Valley remains the most populous area of the County, adding 18,573 residents for a population of 99,894. The City of Maricopa leapfrogged Casa Grande, increasing its population by a third over the past decade.
Saddlebrooke also grew by a third. Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Florence, and Coolidge showed steady growth, while Eloy and Arizona City both lost population. Data for cities, towns and areas below 5,000 population (effectively those not shown in the table) has not yet been made available.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/pinalcountyarizona,US/PST045219