Adams County commissioners adopted Ordinance 2025-10 to create a nonreverting fund dedicated to unsafe buildings and related building-safety enforcement work.

County staff described the fund as a place to deposit fines and related revenues collected by the Building and Planning Department so those monies are available to pay expenses tied to identifying, inspecting and, when necessary, abating unsafe structures. Clayton (county staff) read the proposed ordinance and described authorized uses: "authorized uses for the fund shall include, but are not limited to, identifying and locating parties with an interest in unsafe premises, the cost to retain a registered architect or engineer not otherwise employed by Adams County to examine and inspect unsafe buildings, the cost of surveys required for unsafe buildings, the cost of providing notice to all interested parties, all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by the Adams County building and planning department not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law."

Why it matters: County staff said the fund will ensure revenues generated by enforcement and permits are available to cover inspection, notice and remediation costs rather than reverting to general county funds.

Action: Commissioner motioned to adopt Ordinance 2025-10 and commissioners approved the ordinance at the meeting.

Details: The ordinance was described as not limited to residential property; it covers unsafe buildings generally. County staff said assessments and any recovered costs would be deposited to the fund; in many cases the county would pursue reimbursement from property owners but acknowledged collection may not fully cover expenses.

Next steps: The Building and Planning Department will work with the auditor’s office to set up the fund and to ensure fines and permit revenues identified in the ordinance are routed into the new nonreverting account.