Franklin County creates special revenue fund for criminal-justice sales tax; commissioners approve resolution

Franklin County commissioners on April 2 voted to create a new special revenue fund to hold proceeds from the local criminal-justice sales tax and to clarify how those receipts will be transferred for debt service and operations.

Tim Anderson, Franklin County finance staff, told the board the move is an internal “cleanup” to align the county’s accounting with generally accepted accounting principles. “We were collecting that in a debt service fund. ... the debt service fund should only be used for debt service,” Anderson said during the presentation.

Anderson said the county historically deposited the criminal-justice sales tax in a debt service fund then made transfers to pay operating costs and other local requests. Under the new structure, he said, future sales-tax receipts will be deposited into Fund 115 and transfers will be made from Fund 115 into the debt-service fund to pay bond obligations. Commissioners asked for clarifications about what the tax revenues can be used for and the remaining life of the jail bond.

Commissioner Bauman asked whether leftover money from the fund could be used to help pay for emergency radios; county staff said that question required follow-up and that initial indications were “no.” Bauman also asked about the remaining term of the jail bonds; Anderson read the date given at the meeting (stated as “02/1942”), which staff did not further clarify in the public record during the session.

The board moved and seconded approval of Resolution 2025-0108. With no further discussion the chair called the vote; commissioners signaled assent and the resolution passed. The motion record in the meeting shows a voice vote with the board answering “aye.”

The county discussed the sales-tax rate in the presentation: Anderson referenced the tax as 0.003 (three-tenths of one percent). During the discussion commissioners and staff offered differing revenue estimates in the hearing — participants referenced figures ranging from several million dollars per tenth of a percent to a larger annual amount — but the meeting did not produce a single, verified annual revenue figure. Staff said they would follow up with more precise revenue and accounting details.

The resolution creates Fund FEND 115 for criminal-justice sales-tax receipts, clarifies that debt-service funds should be used only for debt payments, and directs transfers as described by staff. Commissioners approved the resolution without recorded roll-call vote detail beyond the affirmative voice vote on the record.

Clarifying details discussed at the meeting — including precise annual revenue estimates, the bond payoff schedule, and whether radios or other emergency-equipment purchases are allowable uses of any residual funds — were not resolved on April 2 and were left for staff follow-up.

The commissioners then moved on to administrator updates and other items on the agenda.