Apache County announced $40,000 in emergency funding for the Puerco Valley Fire District's payroll after a bankruptcy judge granted temporary relief to the district.
The county said the funding followed an Aug. 5 court order and that it would provide temporary payroll relief while the district’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy case moves forward, according to an Aug. 6 news release.
Puerco Valley employees had been furloughed since July 24, the county said.
The Puerco Valley Fire District, which serves about 2,500 square miles in northeastern Arizona, stopped responding to emergency calls July 24 and filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy July 30.
Apache County stopped passing property tax money to the fire district and instead used it to reduce a deficit from earlier
overpayments, according to the bankruptcy filing.
Those taxes supplied about 40% of its revenue during the previous fiscal year. The county calculated that the district’s account was about $3.09 million in the red as of May 31, the filing said.
Apache County said the district had spent more than $3 million beyond the amount its property tax levy created, according to a letter from the county shared in the filing.
State law required the county to use new tax collections to reduce the deficit, the letter said. The county could not lend the district money or provide funding beyond the amount authorized under state law.
The loss of tax revenue left the district without enough money to maintain fire and ambulance service, which is why emergency funding was needed.
“My office and the Sheriff’s Office are continuing to put our best foot forward to make sure every emergency call within Apache County is answered,” Apache County Attorney Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren said in the news release.
Navajo Nation Fire and Rescue and Navajo Nation Emergency Medical Service announced the activation of their own emergency response plans for Sanders and other affected communities within the Navajo Nation on July 27.
The district is based in Sanders, a community near the New Mexico border.
However, Navajo Nation officials warned that residents could experience longer response times because responding crews would have to travel greater distances.
Apache County's news release did not say whether the district had resumed responding to emergency calls. A phone number listed for the Puerco Valley Fire District was not working when The Arizona Republic called Aug. 9.
Rey Covarrubias Jr. is a reporter for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email him at: rcovarrubias@azcentral.com, and connect with him on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter) at @ReyCJrAZ.
Have a news tip? Contact The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com at newstips@arizonarepublic.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bankrupt Arizona fire district gets $40K in emergency funding
