Crook County finance committee approves redlined fiscal policies, recommends board review

Crook County's Finance Committee on Feb. 7 voted unanimously to recommend a set of redlined changes to the county's fiscal policies for review by the Board of County Commissioners and incorporation into the fiscal year 2026 budget.

The recommendation passed on a 2-0 vote during the committee's brief meeting; two unidentified Finance Committee members (labeled in the transcript as Speaker A and Speaker B) participated. The committee agreed the policies would take effect with adoption of the FY2026 budget and be effective July 1, 2025.

The committee reviewed a marked-up version of the fiscal policies and discussed a series of wording and policy clarifications. Key changes the committee endorsed include: creating a separate line and requirement for the county's parole and probation funding separate from the Sheriff's Office, because that funding arrives quarterly from the state; setting the "period to fund" for that line at three months; removing the "period to fund" requirement for the risk management fund on the basis that it is not an operating fund; and clarifying how "period to fund" is calculated.

The clarified calculation reads that the period to fund should be based on an average of budgeted personnel, budgeted materials and services, budgeted debt service and 20% of budgeted capital outlay expenditures for the current fiscal year. The committee also recommended correcting the spelling/wording of a diversity-related item under D1 (to "diversify") and removing the final sentence of the second paragraph in section D8.

Under section H2B, the committee recommended replacing the phrase "during fiscal year 2026" with "on or before the end of fiscal year 2028." In section i3 the committee proposed adding the phrase "and shall provide recommended changes to the county manager for consideration." The committee also clarified the composition of the Finance Committee in policy language: it "shall consist of the county treasurer, finance director and one other member appointed by the county manager." Finally, the committee recommended correcting the term "County Judge" in I6 to "board of commissioner chair."

"The redline version of the fiscal policies looks consistent with what the committee previously discussed," Speaker B said during the meeting, asking that the committee confirm the policies would be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners for approval and incorporation into the FY2026 budget. Speaker A confirmed: "They'll be effective as of July 1, 2025 for fiscal year 2026."

After a motion to approve the amended fiscal policies for forwarding to the Board, committee members agreed the packet should be presented at the Board's Feb. 12 work session. The maker of the motion amended it so the recommended amendments would be taken to that Feb. 12 work session; the amended motion was seconded and carried.

The committee also approved the minutes from its Jan. 16 meeting earlier in the session.

Next steps: the Finance Committee will forward the redlined fiscal policies to the Board of County Commissioners for review at the Feb. 12 work session, per the committee's vote. The policies will become effective only after formal adoption of the FY2026 budget, with an effective date of July 1, 2025.