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Clallam County to draw down Opportunity Fund, other reserves as projects move to construction
Summary
County finance staff told the committee the 2025 budget anticipates significant reserve drawdowns — including up to $5 million from the Opportunity Fund — tied to infrastructure and affordable-housing projects that will be paid out as construction or invoicing occurs.
Clallam County finance staff told the Finance Committee that the county plans to draw down major reserves in 2025 to fund approved infrastructure and affordable-housing projects.
The Opportunity Fund is budgeted to use $5,000,000 of its reserves this year, the county said; staff expects roughly $3 million to $3.5 million will be disbursed in 2025 with the remainder spilling into 2026 as projects reach construction. Roads, housing and health-related special funds also show planned reserve reductions, staff said.
A county finance official said the committee approved several large projects late last year and the county is now preparing agreements that will allow funds to be “called” only when recipients are within about 30 days of beginning construction. That “just-in-time” approach is intended to avoid giving recipients money long before it will be used and to preserve earning capacity on the county’s funds until disbursement is needed.
The finance official listed several specific reserves that will decline in 2025: a roughly $4,300,000 reduction in the roads fund that staff attributed mainly to timing of grant-funded projects; approximately $2,100,000 drawn from chemical-dependency/mental-health reserves; and about $1,900,000 from the affordable-housing fund. Staff said ARPA-designated funds are largely obligated and that about $1,600,000 of ARPA funds are expected to be drawn down in 2025, mainly for a Joyce-area broadband infrastructure project and other previously approved initiatives.
Staff noted that some disbursements will be structured as reimbursements or invoice-driven transfers rather than up-front payments. For internal projects such as Cloud CQ, the county will move funds by internal journal entries when invoices are submitted; external grantees will typically receive funds after they demonstrate they are incurring costs.
Committee members asked for notice before major disbursements. Staff said projects must provide written notice when they are ready to draw funds and that, in most cases, the county would receive roughly 30 days' notice prior to release of funds. Finance staff also committed to periodic updates on maturities and liquidity as investments come due.
The committee did not take a formal vote on project disbursements during the meeting; staff said agreements and disbursement schedules are being finalized and will be managed administratively and through the county’s contracting process.
Looking ahead, staff said they will continue to monitor project schedules and cash-flow needs and will return to the committee with updates as agreements are executed and invoices are submitted.
