Clark County finance team briefs council on debt, investment pool and fund balances

Clark County finance officials presented an annual financial overview to the Clark County Council, outlining roles and responsibilities, current debt levels, investment returns and the status of major county funds.

The presentation by Emily Swetzik, the county budget director; Mark Gasway, county finance director; and Sarah Lo, chief deputy treasurer, focused on the county's debt policy and capacity, the treasurer's investment pool performance in 2023 and the condition of major operating and restricted funds including the general fund, road fund, public health and the mental-health sales tax fund.

The overview emphasized the council's role in debt approvals and noted the county's low outstanding debt. "All debt must be approved by the council in advance of issuance," Sarah Lo said while describing the finance committee's responsibilities. Gasway said the county's debt burden is low and reported a recent confirmation of the county's AA1 credit rating from Moody's. "We were recently rated by Moody's, and we received a confirmation of our AA1 credit rating," Gasway said.

Why it matters: the briefing framed near-term spending choices against a backdrop of constrained growth in revenues and the need to align any debt issuances with long-term financial goals. Staff flagged several fund-specific issues the council may need to address in upcoming budget or policy discussions, including reserve targets and how to phase grant awards from dedicated sales-tax funds.

Key numbers and details

- Debt: Gasway said the county has about $78,000,000 in outstanding debt and described the county's available capacity for future borrowing, some of which would require voter approval. He noted the county will review its debt policy in 2025 (last reviewed in Feb. 2022).

- Investment pool: Lo said the treasurer's pooled investment balance averaged about $1,100,000,000 in 2023 with an average interest-earnings rate of 2.59% that year. The pool returned a total of about $28,700,000 in investment earnings in 2023; roughly $13,000,000 of that was allocated to county funds and the general fund received about $5,000,000. Lo said current yields on some investments are near 5%.

- General fund: Gasway presented 2023 preliminary figures showing roughly $200,000,000 in annual general fund revenues and similar expenditures. Salaries and benefits account for the largest share of general fund spending (about 65%). The fund's projected unassigned balance was $44,100,000 at the beginning of 2023 and closed the year at about $42,400,000; the council's reserve target for the general fund was listed at $32,200,000.

- Road fund: The road fund is restricted to unincorporated-area road activities and other transportation revenues (fuel tax, state shared revenue, impact fees). Gasway said the road fund ended 2023 with about $45,000,000 in fund balance, much of which is programmed in the six-year transportation improvement plan.

- Health department and COVID-era grants: The health department's revenue still reflects a large share of grants. Staff warned that some state grants are flat and may not keep pace with rising costs; departments are evaluating service levels as federal pandemic-era funding has waned.

- Mental-health sales tax fund: The mental-health sales tax fund built to about $23,000,000 by the end of 2023 while the council's reserve policy requires roughly $5,000,000. Staff and the advisory committee intentionally budgeted larger awards in the current year to spend down the balance; officials said the council should consider whether to keep funding for ongoing programs or preserve capacity for competitive one-time grants.

- Camp Bonneville and Exhibit Hall: Staff explained the Camp Bonneville account operates through an Army funding capacity (the county has $6,000,000 in capacity from the Army that will be drawn down via annual budget requests). The county also has refunded Exhibit Hall debt to retain state sales-tax credits and expects substantial dedicated revenues over the next 15 years for fairgrounds capital projects.

Policies, controls and external support

- Finance roles: The auditors' office handles county financial reporting and internal controls; the budget office facilitates the annual budget and forecast process; the treasurer manages tax collection, an investment pool and the county's debt portfolio. Staff emphasized that the three offices collaborate while remaining separately accountable in their legal roles.

- Debt and investment policies: Staff described the county's debt policy (accredited by the Washington Public Treasurers Association) and the treasurer's investment policy, both of which will be reviewed with the finance committee; the committee meets quarterly and is established by statute. Foster Garvey holds the county's bond counsel contract and Public Finance Managers (PFM) is under contract as a financial adviser. Lo said the investment policy follows state statute and prioritizes safety, liquidity and yield.

- Reporting and transparency: Staff pointed council members to the auditor's website and the county's CLARKnet intranet for financial policies, the trends report and dashboards for digging into revenue and budget line items.

What council members asked and staff commitments

Council members asked about trends in fuel tax revenue, allocation of investment earnings among funds, and the mental-health sales-tax reserve calculation. Staff said they will provide a historical trend line for fuel tax receipts, details on how pooled interest is prorated across funds and the methodologies used to set reserve levels.

Next steps and timing

Staff said the finance committee will review the investment and debt policies (next committee meeting scheduled for Feb. 11) and that the county will present more detailed reports (quarterly debt report and the 2024 close) as they are finalized. The debt policy review is scheduled for 2025.