Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego calls for more state, federal aid for heat

After Phoenix’s hottest summer on record, Mayor Kate Gallego is warning that the city’s budget to respond to heat could fall short in future years.

“We’re being asked to do more, but given fewer resources," Gallego told reporters Thursday. "As we start planning for next summer, I’m calling on the county, state and federal governments to step up to provide funding, facilities, and services necessary to save lives.”

This summer the city launched its first 24-hour cooling center along with other new heat relief programs. And the city reports the strategies were effective. New extended-hour heat sites had more than 35,000 visits between May and October. And heat-related emergency calls to the Phoenix Fire Department this summer dropped 20% compared to last year, in spite of hotter temperatures. Preliminary data from Maricopa County also suggests heat-related deaths may have decreased or remained flat this year, after a decade of steep increases.

But Gallego said the city’s heat relief efforts this summer were funded mostly with money from the American Rescue Plan Act. That federal pandemic aid runs out in 2026. At the same time, Gallego said Arizona’s recent adoption of a flat tax system and the elimination of city residential rental taxes are cutting into Phoenix’s budget.

“We are looking at our entire budget, but two areas where we’ve said we cannot make cuts are around heat and homelessness because they are such community priorities,” Gallego said. "That is why we are making this very strong call that other municipalities, the state, the county, and the federal government do more."

Gallego said heat impacts the whole region, but said Phoenix bears a disproportionate burden for innovating solutions.

"Our city cannot continue to serve as the heat resource lab for the county and state," Gallego said. "We can save more lives if more partners come to the table."