Yavapai County

Yavapai County is located near the center of Arizona, and comprises the Prescott AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area.

One of the four original Arizona counties created by the 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature, it is named after the Yavapai people who were the principal inhabitants at the time that this area was annexed by the United States.

In November 2014, Yavapai County residents rejected a Board of Supervisors’ proposal to increase the county’s jail district sales tax from one-quarter cent to a half‐cent, and to extend the authorization for an additional 20 years. The increase and extension was intended to pay for the continued operation of the county’s jail in Camp Verde, and to possibly construct a jail facility in the Prescott area.

Prior to the November 2014 ballot, Yavapai County officials warned the electorate that the loss of the one-quarter cent sales tax and the need for new jail capacity could necessitate significant budget cuts should the proposed sales tax increase and extension not be authorized.

It had been estimated that visitors to Yavapai pay about one‐third of the current sales taxes based on a 1999 analysis of other Arizona counties, but a more thorough analysis was necessary to precisely determine the impact of non-resident sales on Yavapai County finances.

In spring 2015, the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors therefore commissioned Seidman to estimate the amount of Yavapai County sales tax revenue resulting from tourism and other non‐resident sales in the county.