Crook County commissioners approve year-end transfers to public health and library

The Crook County Board of County Commissioners on June 30 approved Resolution 2025-22, authorizing two budget transfers that move contingency funds into the public health and library accounts so those departments have enough appropriation to pay invoices and payroll through the end of fiscal year 2025.

Jamie Burger, Crook County budget analyst, told commissioners that the transfers cover “two budget transfers for your consideration, one for public health, one for the library. Both of these transfers are coming out of contingencies in those funds to make sure that they have enough appropriation for operations.” She said June 30 is the last day the county can make budget adjustments for the fiscal year.

The transfers were prompted by faster-than-anticipated spending and shifting grant timelines. Burger said some public health grants from the Oregon Health Authority and other funders required the health department to “spend down grants,” and changes in grant amounts or deadlines led the department to increase spending. “They didn’t realize they needed to also have a budget resolution to increase with their increased activity,” Burger said, explaining why the county is using contingency funds to cover those expenses.

Burger described the library’s situation as a faster spend-down than expected and said the county provided “a little bit more cushion” so the library will not exceed its appropriation. She added that the library has a “very healthy contingency” and that the transfer is not expected to create a shortfall in fiscal 2026, though it could reduce carryover resources used in later years.

Commissioners discussed the fiscal-policy implications for the health department. Burger said the transfers will reduce the health department’s contingency and “for a health department, they need to have, according to fiscal policy, four months of operating, held.” She said the county will monitor the department’s finances and work to replenish the contingency in future budgets because much of the health department’s activity is grant funded.

With no public comment, a commissioner moved to approve Resolution 2025-22 and another commissioner seconded. During roll call, Commissioner Eric voted “aye” and Commissioner Barney voted “aye.” The motion passed and the board approved the resolution.

After the vote a speaker observed “there’s 350,000 gone,” a reference made during the meeting to the scale of contingency funds affected. County staff also noted they have begun distributing financial indicator reports to department heads to identify potential problems earlier in the fiscal year; Burger said departments have seen a first draft and that staff will incorporate feedback and include the report in monthly distributions.

The board directed staff to monitor compliance with Crook County’s fiscal policy and to plan for replenishing the health department contingency in upcoming budget work sessions. No formal amendments to the resolution were made during the meeting.