Related articles:

Military spending has $4.5B impact in Southern Arizona

Other articles by Howard Fischer:

Initiative targets photo radar 37,000 Arizonans set record with Nov. job losses Ariz. jobless claims hit record 37K in November Maricopa County supervisor accused of perjury, forgery Brewer is advised to keep some state appointees in place Renewed interest in 'lieutenant governor' title Havasupai get go-ahead to sue universities State tax revenues far below projections Arizona, local housing numbers get darker McCain plans to run for 5th Senate term

Education
Assessment Technology, Inc
Social Studies Content Writer Health Care
Rio Salado College
PA's/Online Instructors General
CORT
WAREHOUSE/DRIVER Construction
Komatsu Equipment Co
Mechanic General
CORT
Warehouse Supervisor

PHOENIX — Gov. Janet Napolitano is defending her decision to raid a special fund designed to save military bases even as she pushes to do more to keep them in Arizona.

The Napolitano-backed budget purposely skips the requirement that the state put $4.8 million a year into the Military Installation Fund through 2014. That account is designed to give the state Department of Commerce money to buy up land — or at least the development rights — around military bases.

And the budget also took another $3 million in that account, left over from prior years, to spend on other priorities.

The move has brought new criticism from two individuals with key roles in trying to make sure that Arizona does not lose another military facility the next time the Base Realignment and Closure Commission meets.

Rep. John Nelson, R-Litchfield Park, who wrote the 2004 law to provide the funds, cited a new report that says the military has a $9.1 billion impact on Arizona's economy, with the bases and their employees generating more than $400 million in state and local taxes.

"She absolutely gutted it," Nelson said of the law, calling that $4.8 million annual commitment "a drop in the bucket."

And Tom Finnegan, co-chair of the Military Affairs Committee, which administers the fund, called the budget decisions "problematic."

He said the panel will have no money to give out this budget year, potentially undermining Arizona's efforts to save the bases. Finnegan said he and Lisa Atkins, the committee's other co-chair, met with the governor Monday and "expressed our dismay."

Gubernatorial press aide Shilo Mitchell said Napolitano's decision to take money from the fund does not undermine her commitment to protect Arizona's military installations. And Mitchell said the governor does not believe that the $7.8 million loss will make any real difference.

"The Military Installation Fund is a good tool to use to minimize encroachment on our military facilities," Mitchell said.

"But it is not the only one," she said. And Mitchell, referring to the projected $2 billion deficit, said that "tight budget times mean we need to get creative" in protecting the bases.

But Mitchell was unable to name any alternatives, saying only that the issue is being studied.

Arizona had been hit once, losing Williams Air Force Base east of Phoenix in the early 1990s.

That led to the first study about the financial impact of the military bases in 2002. That report, in turn, led to that 2004 law to protect bases from encroachment.

Ultimately, Arizona managed to escape with no real damage when the Base Realignment and Closure Commission met in 2005, with just 550 jobs lost in the state. Nelson said the commitment to buying up land around the bases helped preserve the facilities.

But the new financial report released earlier this week warns that another round of base-closing meetings is expected in the years ahead. One function of the report is to warn of potential economic impacts.

"Maintaining these operations and the jobs and economic output they support should be a priority of state and local government," the report states.