Facilities staff explains square-foot cost allocation, retro-billing and limits on capital in operational rates

Facilities staff explained Wednesday that the county's facilities-cost allocation covers direct operational costs — utilities, janitorial, repairs, supplies, taxes and fire protection — and that property insurance and maintenance labor are allocated based on a building's share of total direct operating cost. "Each building has their direct operational cost. They have repairs. They have utilities. They have janitorial. They have supplies, taxes, and fire protection," a facilities presenter said. Staff said occupancy-based square footage (excluding non-occupiable areas) is the basis for departmental charges in shared buildings such as the Hall of Justice, Admin and Annex, and that district court costs are apportioned to cities based on case volume. Facilities staff noted that the allocation does not include depreciation or capital reserves; major capital work such as roof replacement is handled through a separate capital reserve fund. Billing process and timing: staff said estimated allocations are provided to departments during budget preparation, then the county carries out a year-end reconciliation and issues the actual bill after the close of the year (the presenter said 2025 actuals would be billed in mid-2026). Staff also said they are evaluating whether property-insurance allocation might be done by building valuation instead of direct operational cost. Ending: the presenter told the board that facilities' full budget will be discussed in a later public-works budget presentation and that staff are exploring more granular labor-allocation methods tied to work-order histories.