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Jefferson County finance staff present retained‑revenue scenarios, ask commissioners for wildfire guidance
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Summary
CFO Dan Conway presented updated retained‑revenue projections for 2024 and multi‑year scenarios showing the budget impact of restoring mill levies, noting a state backfill of roughly $11–12 million; staff asked the board for direction on wildfire allocations and requested commissioners identify items for further analysis.
Jefferson County Chief Financial Officer Dan Conway presented updated projections of retained revenue from 2024 and two multi‑year scenarios that show how restoring mill levies and prioritizing wildfire and homelessness funding would affect available discretionary dollars.
Conway told the Board these figures are preliminary pending year‑end close: "That blue bar is our total estimated retained revenue. So this is probably the time you've seen that figure. That's 65.29 [million], that's what we're anticipating retained for 2024," he said, adding that staff will refine numbers as accounting closes.
Conway walked commissioners through two scenarios: a full mill‑levy restoration scenario and a partial restoration that prioritizes social services and parts of road and bridge and capital funds. The partial scenario showed lower ongoing revenue; the full restoration would provide the most room for both mill‑levy restorations and one‑time retained revenue allocations.
Notable update: staff said the county received an unexpected state backfill payment tied to recent state legislation to compensate counties that lost property‑tax revenue under state changes. Conway said that backfill would add about $11–12 million to the retained‑revenue total and could raise the working retained figure from approximately $65.2 million into the low $70 million range.
Where staff asked for direction: Conway said finance seeks board guidance on wildfire items and on which department requests merit further analysis. "We are asking specifically for some direction from the board on the wildfire items on the agenda, and you'll ask for that direction at the end of the session," he said.
Context: Conway warned that the retained revenue figure is an estimate that will change as the fiscal year closes. He also noted a structural general‑fund deficit will be covered before any retained revenue is allocated, and reminded commissioners that some retained requests are one‑time uses while others are ongoing.
Commissioner discussion: Commissioners probed whether retained dollars should be reserved for homeowner mitigation grants and whether wildfire investments should be prioritized against other urgent needs such as roads and social services. Several commissioners emphasized the need to separate one‑time from ongoing uses and to preserve funds for near‑term community priorities.
Ending: Staff said they will return with more detailed recommendations on limited uses of retained revenue, refined estimates after year‑end close, and a list of items recommended for further analysis.
