Purpose

The Military Installation Fund (MIF) was established to allocate monies as stipulated by ARS §26-262 in order to acquire private property, real estate, rights to real estate, property management, and infrastructure that is vital to the preservation of a military installation. Eighty (80) percent of fund awards shall be distributed as listed above, and specifically for purchase of, and projects on, private property owners, with the remaining twenty (20) percent awarded to cities, towns and counties for property enhancements, capital and infrastructure improvement projects, renovations, and management of property that is considered critical to the continued success of military installations.

Introduction

Arizona’s military facilities and operations should be treated as an industry that is a cornerstone of the state economy. The 2008 Maguire study on the Economic Impact of Arizona’s Principal Military Operations states that total employment impact equaled 96,328 jobs and the total economic output for Arizona’s military industry is over $9.12 billion for Tax Year 2008. The stable nature and high-pay-scale value of military jobs make them a fundamentally critical to the state economy. Recognizing the military industry as a separate economic cluster in Arizona is critical to the efforts to educate the public about its importance to the fiscal health of Arizona.

Arizona has provided tools to local jurisdictions to support the long-term mission sustainability and economic health of military facilities. Cities, counties, and towns should consider the following innovative approaches to preserve residential quality of life and ensure compatible land uses: work with active military airports to establish noise and impact contours, as well as expanded approach/departure corridors; utilize the Graduated Development Concept to graduate densities away from the high-noise contour areas and APZs; incentivize developers to reduce intensity and density in areas that are mission critical; purchase lands around military facilities that are most affected by safety and noise considerations and leasing them back to farmers for agricultural use; and establish relationships with existing military facilities in order to raise awareness of environmental and growth issues, while minimizing impact to residents.  In addition to these tools, the State of Arizona also created the Military Installation Fund.

Background

In December 2003, the Governor’s Military Facilities Task Force recommended twenty-seven actions to ensure the long-term retention and health of Arizona’s military installations and facilities – one of which was the Military Installation Fund. Receiving the first state appropriation in 2004, the core mission of the Military Installation Fund is to initiate projects and/or acquire lands and property directly impacted by the function of Arizona’s military installations in an effort to preserve the operational jurisdiction of the facility and protect residents from encroachment and negative environmental impacts.

The stability of employment and tax revenues produced by the Arizona military industry is indispensable to the fiscal health of the state. The long-term retention of Arizona’s network of military facilities and the sustainability of their missions are thus vital to the security of the nation and the strength of the state economy. Through the operation of the Military Installation Fund, Arizona is working to protect the equilibrium between military operational mission success, local economic health, and residential protection.

The Military Installation Fund is not currently accepting applications.

Click here to view results of the 2015 Round of the Military Installation Fund.