Facilities and Fleet Department outlines 2026 budget priorities, plans energy performance contract hearing

Adams County Facilities and Fleet Management presented the department’s 2026 budget overview, highlighting investments in staffing, sustainability and an integrated workplace management system intended to improve operations across county buildings and the vehicle fleet.

The department said its top staffing proposal funds a centralized customer service team to triage work orders and coordinate among operations, planning/design/construction and real property teams. The department also requested investments for expanded sustainability work, including EV charger planning and LED lighting projects aligned with the county’s 2030 sustainability goals.

Department leadership outlined a plan to move beyond a basic work‑order system by adding an integrated workplace management system that would combine space planning, asset tracking and energy management data so requests can include room occupancy and environmental readings. Officials said the county will issue an RFP this year and expects the industry to provide both time‑savings metrics and proposals that IT and finance can vet.

Facilities staff said the department will present a public hearing within weeks to advance components of an energy performance contract the county previously approved in principle, with an initial solar phase expected to move forward first to attempt to capture available incentives.

The department also reviewed a request for modest additions to its sustainability line item to continue projects seeded in prior years and to provide clearer reporting on fund usage. Staff described the intent to show how specific dollar line items were spent and to provide completion timelines so the commissioners can hold the department accountable for promised outcomes.

Real property work remained on the agenda. The department told commissioners it is pursuing strategic property acquisitions in east Adams County consistent with the facilities master plan, including work toward a potential site near Bennett. Officials described options for acquiring land and ultimately building a county facility — a separate county building sited adjacent to land the Town of Bennett will develop for its municipal center — and said more detailed purchase and subdivision work is under way. Commissioners pressed for analysis of leasing versus owning and asked that staff continue to provide cost and timeline estimates before any transaction is finalized.

Finally, the department summarized operating and capital budgets for its multiple funds (general operations, capital facilities and an internal fleet fund), and explained how proposed new positions and business cases affect the department’s base. Facilities leadership and commissioners discussed vacancy levels, recruitment status for building maintenance technicians and the recent creation of a facilities security position. Commissioners asked for continued reporting on hiring timelines and for written ROI material on energy and sustainability projects previously discussed.

The department said it will return in follow‑up sessions with more detailed cost estimates and timeline milestones for the integrated workplace management system, contract procurement for the energy performance contract phases, and detailed briefings on the proposed Bennett land acquisition.