Jefferson County, WV (2026 Oct 29) — The Observer’s coverage of the County Commission’s budget in March 2026 highlighted that the annual expenses projected in the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget exceeded the expected annual revenues.
In the chart below, the red bars represent the annual operating expenses and the green bars represent the annual revenues from taxes, fees and other sources.
In 2022-24 and 2023-24, the County budget generated an operating surplus that increased the carryforward in the general fund. The County had an operating deficit in fiscal year 2024-25 and 2025-26, and the budget for the current year (2026-27) also projects an operating deficit.
Rainy Day Funds & Capital Projects
By law, the County must balance its budget each year. If revenue exceeds expenses, the extra funds can be assigned to a capital outlay reserve fund, a fiscal stabilization (“rainy day”) fund, or simply carried over in the general fund for the following year. The diagram below outlines the budget flow when the county keeps its operating expenses below its annual revenues.
The County can still adopt a “balanced budget” with operating expenses that exceed annual revenues. To do so, it uses money carried forward in the “general fund” — basically the accumulated savings from prior year surpluses. For the past three years, the Jefferson County Commission has been drawing down this “general fund” to bridge the gap between its annual revenues and its operating expenses.
The chart below of the page shows the general fund balance reported at the beginning of each fiscal year. The drop between July 2025 and July 2026 was approximately $1 million, based on the numbers the County provided to the WV Auditor’s Office.
The question for the Commission is whether it can sustain this imbalance between revenues and expenses over the next several years.
>>>More Observer coverage of the Jefferson County Commission…
Published 2026 Oct 29 in the Observer Weekly.
By Steve Pearson