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Jefferson County commissioners pause impact-fee transfer after audit discrepancies
Summary
Commissioners reviewed a resolution to transfer impact-fee funds after an auditor report identified mismatches between deposited amounts and accounts. County staff asked commissioners not to vote until clerks reconcile balances; commissioners ordered a full report by Feb. 24.
Jefferson County commissioners on Feb. 10 held up a proposed resolution to transfer impact-fee funds after staff and commissioners identified discrepancies in the numbers provided and in the resolution text.
The measure, labeled Resolution 2025-12, was presented as a set of transfers to move impact-fee receipts into separate accounts. Commissioners and staff questioned a line in the draft that read “Transfer from the sheriff impact fees to the general, the amount of $1,025.80.” Kristen Steen, who reviewed the paperwork, said the direction appeared reversed: “Yeah. It should be going from the general to the sheriff's.”
Clerk’s office staff and auditors had prepared a set of recommended fund adjustments based on a 2023 audit; several commissioners said the transfers should have been made earlier. One commissioner told Colleen, the county clerk, that the transfers “should be a priority,” and asked for a monthly report showing each deposit and subsequent transfer so commissioners could track balances.
Because the resolution as presented contained apparent errors and incomplete supporting detail, staff asked the board not to vote. The clerk’s office agreed to deliver a reconciled report that traces each deposit and transfer back to its entry date and source. Commissioners set a deadline: have the corrected, itemized impact-fee report on the Feb. 24 agenda. The board did not vote on Resolution 2025-12 at the Feb. 10 meeting.
Why this matters: impact fees are earmarked for specific capital uses (road, sheriff, parks). If funds are not tracked and transferred promptly the county risks accounting problems and possible obligations to return unspent money to developers. Commissioners repeatedly asked that the clerk and planning staff produce a clear monthly ledger so future transfers can be audited in real time.
What happens next: County staff agreed to reconcile the accounts with the treasurer and bring a corrected report to the Feb. 24 meeting for formal action. The board also directed that the report show deposits, dates and destination accounts so commissioners and department heads can verify balances.
