Before the Jefferson County Commission voted to approve a $34.4 million operating budget for next year (chart below), the commissioners were already making plans for more budget discussions over the next couple of months. Even though the vote to approve the budget was unanimous, the commissioners expressed an explicit lack of confidence in the numbers, both for the budget they just approved for the next fiscal year (FY25), and the budget for the current year (FY24, which ends on June 30).
Questions About The 2024 Budget
Much of the county budget uncertainty comes from the current year (FY24) budget. On March 12, the day of the first budget work session, the Commission staff reported that the current year budget had a gap of $4.875 million, mainly from budgeted transfers that were not completed in prior years. By the March 19 work session, they were projecting a $2.6 million surplus in the FY24 operating budget. The Commission staff also reported that the current year budget had been set up incorrectly in the county’s system, so the operating surplus projection might change over the next month.
The issue is not that the County is running out of money. The Observer was able to review the balances in the county’s bank accounts. Across all of the various funds, the County’s reserves in its bank accounts added up to approximately $40 million at the beginning of 2024. Much of that total is designated (or “earmarked”) for specific purposes, but still, the “unencumbered” general fund sits at roughly $10 million.
The biggest chunk of the County’s money is in the capital outlay fund ($16 million), followed by the Impact Fee fund ($4 million), and the unspent balance in the ARPA fund ($3.9 million). According to reports provided by county staff, only a small portion of the unspent ARPA money is unencumbered. Much of it is designated for capital expenditures that have not yet been completed. $300 thousand of the $2.5 million ARPA funds designated for the ambulance service transition will be applied to the FY25 operationg expenses for the emergency services department.
The funds held in the Emergency Services Agency (ESA) account do not appear to be included in the $40 million total. Formerly an independent agency, the ESA had a separate bank account to accumulate the ambulance transport billing revenue and handle the ESA payroll. That account remains outside of the county’s system, part of the unfinished reorganization of the ambulance services into a county department.
The county’s “rainy day fund” is also included in the $40 million total, but that fund currently has a zero balance. The County has a specific policy to transfer a portion of any surpluses from the general fund into this financial stabilization fund — and the FY23 and FY24 budgets submitted to the State Auditor’s Office (WVSAO) for approval did include $2.4 and $2.6 million for this line item respectively. Staff at the WVSAO told The Observer that they review the initial budgets submitted by the County, but they don’t see the end-of-year numbers. Looking at the financial records of the past several years, it appears that the County has been transferring its surplus funds into the Capital Outlay fund instead of funding the “rainy day fund” each year.
The next County Commission meeting is on April 4 (9:30 am).
Related Stories
Jefferson County Commisioners Fail To Hire Key Staff To Prepare Budget (The Observer, Mar 27 2024)
Jefferson County Commission Passes Budget For Fiscal Year 2025 (The Observer, Mar 27 2024)
Wrestling With The County Budget (The Observer, Mar 27 2024)
Jefferson County Commission Stops Work for Three Months (The Observer, Dec 21 2024)
Jefferson County Commission Misses Grant Deadlines (The Observer, Oct 26 2024)
[More information about the Jefferson County budget]
By Steve Pearson