San Juan County staff present mid‑year budget amendments and first‑quarter financial review; public hearing set for May 13

Molly Foote, the auditor's office budget analyst, gave the San Juan County Council the second touch on proposed amendments to the 2025 budget on Tuesday, April 22. Foote said the package comprises three ordinances to revise beginning cash balances, emergency appropriations and supplemental appropriations for the 2025 budget and that the county has "updated numbers" in several exhibits since the first touch.

Foote described adjustments that together would increase the countywide budgeted appropriations by about $9.1 million, largely from updates to beginning cash balances across multiple funds. She told the council that, with the current set of recommended items removed from the ordinance exhibits, the current expense fund would see roughly $21,000 consumed from beginning cash and roughly $77,445 added in spending authority; across all funds the amendment package as presented would raise appropriations by about $9.1 million from the previous adoption.

Nut graf: The amendments aim to align the county's formal 2025 appropriation ordinance with updated beginning cash figures and several revised requests; Foote said she will return for the public hearing on May 13 and expected minor additional technical corrections to the draft ordinances prior to that hearing.

Foote walked the council through the countywide first‑quarter financial review for January–March 2025. Key points she highlighted: - Countywide revenues received through quarter 1 totaled about $19.1 million versus expenditures of about $17.5 million (both figures exclude beginning cash carryforward). Taxes were the largest revenue source. - The county's total adopted appropriations prior to the amendments were approximately $152 million; the proposed amendments would increase that total by about $9.1 million. - Current expense fund: Foote reported roughly $5.2 million in current expense revenue received (about 19.4% of the budgeted amount) and about $6.8 million in current expense spending (about 22% of its budget), producing estimated current expense cash of roughly $6.69 million at that point in time. - Revenue lines to watch included REET capital project receipts (running below historical averages so far) and sales tax (near expectations but flagged as one to monitor given construction and tourism sensitivity). Interest income and some planning/permitting revenues were ahead of budget.

Foote said some requests originally included in the ordinance exhibits had been removed ahead of the presentation (including a proposed abatement fund request and a district court position change) and that the auditor's office and the county attorney's office were still finalizing ordinance language. She asked council for direction about including or excluding particular amendment requests before the May 13 public hearing.

During public comment at the end of the meeting, a court representative (self‑identified in the record as a judicial officer) asked the council to approve budget amendments to adjust pay ranges for long‑tenured probation staff who had taken on additional duties, saying the personnel changes had been coordinated with the superior court and HR but that the pay adjustments could not be finalized without county approval of the budget amendment. The commenter said they had been told HR required a budget amendment before completing personnel documents and requested council approval to allow HR and management to finalize reclassification work.

Foote said the next quarterly financial update will be delivered after quarter 2 closes and reiterated that she expected to return May 13 for the required public hearing and third touch on the budget ordinances.

Ending: The council did not take final action on the budget ordinances at the April 22 meeting; staff scheduled the May 13 public hearing to consider the proposed amendments and will return with updated draft ordinances and any corrections requested by the county attorney's office.