Jefferson County previews budget amendment, proposes housing reserve and program reallocations

County finance staff on Feb. 13 provided a substantive preview of a midyear budget amendment the board will consider in March, detailing carryovers, capital needs and proposed allocations tied to recent land-sale proceeds.

County Administrator/Finance lead Mister Weymier told the board staff are preparing a package that includes traditional year-end carryovers and larger midyear recommendations: capital allocations, market-adjustment salary changes, closing out ARPA-funded projects and reallocation of unspent ARPA dollars to defined capital projects. He estimated the multi-year financial needs associated with the county’s strategic objectives could be roughly $45 million over several years, though he stressed that is not a one-year ask.

Weymier said recent property sales yielded gross proceeds of about $3,360,000 with net proceeds roughly $3,200,000 after closing costs. He proposed reserving $1,000,000 as an initial fiscal-sustainability reserve and recommended initial allocations including a proposed $1,000,000 housing fund, $500,000 for strategic-plan implementation, $500,000 toward farmland preservation/PACE-type programs and $200,000 for park maintenance at the Project Dove site. He also detailed anticipated capital and operational needs such as courthouse project shortfalls, fleet replacements and infrastructure repairs.

Why it matters: the amendment will affect the 2024 budget and could reallocate one-time proceeds and ARPA funds to priority projects. Several items require full board votes next month and some require supermajority approval (budget amendments and certain ordinances). Weymier said the finance committee will refine recommendations and return a formal amendment to the full board in March.

Contracting and grants: Weymier said the county has an executed purchase agreement for Project Dove (buyer noted as Kikkoman in staff materials) and listed candidate dispositions. He also flagged an anticipated substantive update on opioid-settlement distributions, noting a second national settlement had recently closed and may change available allocations.

Next steps: finance committee will complete detailed cost estimates and bring a formal budget amendment for adoption in March; staff encouraged supervisors to consult department heads and provide feedback before the formal vote.