Gila County Transportation Excise Tax—County, city, and most towns used excise tax monies for highway and street purposes, but Miami did not always use excise tax monies appropriately

Transportation excise tax revenue is statutorily restricted to street and highway purposes. Gila County, Globe, and the County’s 5 incorporated towns received $15.3 million in excise tax revenue during calendar years 2014 through 2018. While most entities used the excise tax monies appropriately, we found that Miami inappropriately loaned excise tax monies to other funds and could not demonstrate indirect administrative expenses were appropriate. We also found that Globe, Miami, and Payson lacked policies and procedures that define the allowable uses of excise tax monies. Gila County, Globe, and all 5 towns were able to show the impact of the excise tax.