The Garfield County Board of Commissioners approved the 2025 Third Supplemental Budget and Appropriation Report after a public hearing on Aug. 4, adding multiple grant revenues and associated expenditures across county departments.

County finance staff presented the supplement during the hearing and described changes including increased opioid-abatement grant funds for inmate medication-assisted treatment, donation revenues to support a new man-patrol unit, multiple public-health grant increases (including community health worker funding and a reinstated WIC farmers market program), larger Forest Service receipts routed to school districts, an assessor capital request to replace mass-appraisal software, and a landfill fund increase to hire outside counsel on air-quality rule matters. The fund administration also requested the county accept additional BLM-held revenue into the 2025 budget. No members of the public spoke during the hearing. County legal staff confirmed the public-notice requirement had been met.

Why it matters: the supplement channels federal, state and philanthropic grant dollars into county programs and capital needs and updates revenue recognizing for BLM-held funds. Several of the items are increases to grant-funded programs (net-zero to the county general fund) while others raise ongoing capital or operating budgets that could affect later budget planning.

Specifics presented by staff included approximately $38,400 to support an inmate medication-assisted treatment program (sheriff); $11,614 in donations and matching expenditures for a man-patrol unit (sheriff); public-health increases including $23,534 in state grant revenue and $19,034 in associated program expenditures for a community health worker position (newly added during 2025), $3,000 from the Rocky Mountain Health Foundation for school dental programming and $20,000 to re‑start the WIC farmers market program. Roads reported an increase in Forest Service-title receipts and a distribution to Garfield County school districts; the assessor requested a $300,000 capital expenditure to replace its computer-assisted mass-appraisal system; and the landfill fund requested $50,000 to retain outside legal counsel related to Air Quality Control Commission Rule 31 and methane-capture issues. Fund administration asked to recognize $588,216 of additional BLM-held revenue.

During the hearing, commissioners asked questions about the number and size of grant increases. Staff said many were previously discussed with departments and represented additional grant awards that required recognition in the county ledger. County legal counsel confirmed notice of the hearing had been published in the Citizen's Telegram in late July, satisfying the relevant state notice requirement referenced in the public hearing.

Outcome: Following the public hearing and a motion to approve, the board voted in favor and approved Budget Supplement No. 3 as presented.

The vote concluded the public-hearing portion and staff will implement the accounting changes described in the supplement. Further budget decisions tied to multi-year costs (for example, ongoing positions or capital replacement) will appear in later budget materials and in subsequent reporting to the board.