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Commissioners back initial spending plan from retained revenue for wildfire mitigation
Summary
County staff presented a package of wildfire mitigation and response investments funded from retained revenue approved by voters; commissioners expressed support and staff will include the items in a supplemental action for final approval.
Jefferson County staff presented a multi‑part wildfire mitigation and response package on June 10 that officials said would be the first round of spending from revenue voters authorized to retain under Ballot 1A.
"The retained revenue that voters have approved makes more feasible" the county’s ability to fund actions identified in its community wildfire protection plan, said Mike Smith (Strategy, Innovation and Finance). He told commissioners the package consolidates multiple requests to build mitigation and response capacity countywide.
Staff outlined four primary wildfire items: a wildfire management program with an initial $2.4 million capital investment plus $500,000 ongoing funding to support 37 positions and create home‑assessment, prevention and micro‑grant programs; consultant and information‑system funding to support adoption and enforcement of updated state WUI (wildland‑urban interface) codes; a Human Services position (ESF‑6 role) to support emergency response coordination (approximately $133,000 ongoing); and expansion of the county’s slash program with a coordinator position and related contracts (about $181,000). Staff also identified roughly $870,000 in support‑service needs (5.5 positions) across procurement, HR, county attorney and IT to enable program delivery.
Staff said the micro‑grant program for homeowners would be developed but may not be funded immediately; the earliest grant disbursements depend on building program capacity and hiring staff to run the program. Several commissioners emphasized speed but noted hiring and rule changes take time.
Commissioners voiced unified support for moving the package forward and asked staff to include the requests in a supplemental agenda for final action. One commissioner said the county should be “loud and proud” about delivering on Ballot 1A promises. Staff said the package would be included in the county’s June 24 supplemental agenda for formal adoption.
Ending: Staff will return with materials for final adoption, including budget and FTE details, and begin outreach with fire chiefs, wildfire ambassadors and community partners to implement mitigation, micro‑grant, and slash program expansions.
