Benton County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt a new policy governing use of local-option sales tax and other continuous-revenue funds, approving Resolution 25-62 and repealing older, fragmented resolutions. The action was taken during a regular board meeting; the resolution updates language governing when the county may gift or temporarily loan LOST-derived monies and clarifies references to the EMS trust fund.

The update consolidates roughly a decade of amendments into one current policy, county staff said, and was presented as clearer and easier to maintain than repeatedly amending older documents. County staff noted it retains the same substantive controls but refreshes the record. A supervisor asked whether the local option sales tax referenced in the resolution was indeed the voter-approved LOST, and staff confirmed the ballot language restricts uses and that receipts flow from state distributions.

The board discussed how LOST revenues fluctuate month to month, unlike fixed property tax levies, and that the ballot specified allocation priorities. According to a staff explanation on the record, the LOST ballot set aside 25% for tax relief and the remaining 75% among secondary roads, conservation, libraries and other designated uses. Supervisors noted that spending authority from the fund depends on the available fund balance and that revenues can vary, for example between July and August retail activity.

The motion to adopt Resolution 25-62 carried on a recorded voice vote with supervisors recorded as voting in favor. The county will file the new resolution in lieu of the older amendments.