Utah County adopts 2024 budget with targeted cuts, contingency and midyear review
December 13, 2023 | Utah County Commission Meeting Minutes, Utah County Commission, Utah County Commission and Boards, Utah County, Utah
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The Utah County Commission adopted its 2024 budget Dec. 13 after a detailed staff presentation and several line-item adjustments.
Rudy Livingston, Utah County’s budget manager, walked commissioners through corrections and reclassifications in the tentative budget, including moving legislative-consultant contract budgets from fund 680 (administration services) to fund 100 and correcting an overstated allocation for the aggravated murder defense fund. "We realized that we'd included an extra $350,000," Livingston said, describing a reduction that returned the line to about $1,001,000. Livingston also proposed adding $500,000 to a general contingency reserve and a $250,000 salary-adjustment reserve for potential attorney’s-office and other staffing costs, while noting staff could implement some fixes via a midyear adjustment.
Commissioners debated whether to set aside the contingency dollars now or rely on a midyear review tied to specific staffing needs — such as preparing for a new court opening — and reached consensus in several areas to prefer midyear adjustments when appropriate. They also confirmed a series of agreed amounts for specific requests: $720,000 for item 27; $180,000 for item 28; $36,000 for item 31; and $6,800 for item 42. Staff noted minor spreadsheet corrections (for example, an entry that should read $131,000 rather than $31,000) and recommended small additions, including $13,000 for a sheriff’s public-information on-call budget and $5,000 for consulting on the county’s budget software.
On department staffing, commissioners approved several positions in the general fund and agreed to fund some additional positions as restricted or revisit them midyear, including one facility specialist and an HVAC mechanic in building maintenance, and one SVU detective position with a second held restricted. The sheriff’s office’s requests were largely included after adjustments; some items (cuff-ports, greenhouse repairs and a heater) were moved to the inmate-benefit fund as appropriate, which staff and the sheriff supported.
After these adjustments, an unnamed commissioner moved to adopt the budget "as presented with the following changes and any related adjustments needed to balance each fund after today's changes." The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote recorded as 3–0. Livingston said staff will return final numbers for commissioners to review as a housekeeping measure.
The commission adjourned the meeting without recorded public comment.
Rudy Livingston, Utah County’s budget manager, walked commissioners through corrections and reclassifications in the tentative budget, including moving legislative-consultant contract budgets from fund 680 (administration services) to fund 100 and correcting an overstated allocation for the aggravated murder defense fund. "We realized that we'd included an extra $350,000," Livingston said, describing a reduction that returned the line to about $1,001,000. Livingston also proposed adding $500,000 to a general contingency reserve and a $250,000 salary-adjustment reserve for potential attorney’s-office and other staffing costs, while noting staff could implement some fixes via a midyear adjustment.
Commissioners debated whether to set aside the contingency dollars now or rely on a midyear review tied to specific staffing needs — such as preparing for a new court opening — and reached consensus in several areas to prefer midyear adjustments when appropriate. They also confirmed a series of agreed amounts for specific requests: $720,000 for item 27; $180,000 for item 28; $36,000 for item 31; and $6,800 for item 42. Staff noted minor spreadsheet corrections (for example, an entry that should read $131,000 rather than $31,000) and recommended small additions, including $13,000 for a sheriff’s public-information on-call budget and $5,000 for consulting on the county’s budget software.
On department staffing, commissioners approved several positions in the general fund and agreed to fund some additional positions as restricted or revisit them midyear, including one facility specialist and an HVAC mechanic in building maintenance, and one SVU detective position with a second held restricted. The sheriff’s office’s requests were largely included after adjustments; some items (cuff-ports, greenhouse repairs and a heater) were moved to the inmate-benefit fund as appropriate, which staff and the sheriff supported.
After these adjustments, an unnamed commissioner moved to adopt the budget "as presented with the following changes and any related adjustments needed to balance each fund after today's changes." The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote recorded as 3–0. Livingston said staff will return final numbers for commissioners to review as a housekeeping measure.
The commission adjourned the meeting without recorded public comment.
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