The county budget submitted to the state is actually several components nested together (chart below). The operating budget (red box) includes the expenses of running the county’s offices (including payroll). Property taxes provide the largest portion of operating revenues, followed by building permit fees, video lottery, phone taxes, cable franchise fees, and numerous minor taxes and fees. Transfers from other sources and ambulance service fees add about $2 million to the revenues.
Adding Reserves From Prior Year
To calculate the extended budget submitted to the state, the county includes the general (unrestricted) fund balance on the revenue side and reserves a “contingency” amount on the expense side. If the operating budget is in balance and there are no emergency expenses, that “contingency” amount plus any operating surplus (projected to be $38,000 in the March 21 budget) rolls forward into the general fund to be included in the extended budget for the following year.
The County has a policy goal to hold 20 percent of the operating expenses in a “rainy day fund.” Each year the County should be topping up that fund as the operating expense budget increases. Prior year budgets do show a transfer to the rainy day fund each year, but that money has never been deposited into the designated fund, which currently has a zero balance.
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Jefferson County Commission Stops Work for Three Months (The Observer, Dec 21 2024)
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Originally Published Mar 27 2024