Commissioners weigh grant freeze as county reviews CCITF, CDGF and use tax balances

Rio Blanco County finance staff provided an overview of three restricted or special funds at the Board of County Commissioners work session on July 22, 2025, and commissioners discussed whether to freeze external grants while staff returns a proposed dollar amount for such a freeze.

Lisa (county finance presenter) reviewed fund balances and recent activity for three funds: the Conservation Trust/Capital Improvement-type fund (CCITF), the Community Development Grant Fund (CDGF) funded by electric sales tax, and the county use tax fund. The presentation focused on fund cash balances as of June 30, 2025, budgeted revenues for 2025 and the amounts collected through the first half of the year.

On CDGF (electric-sales-tax-funded grants), Lisa said the carryforward from 2024 was $139,183, budgeted revenues for 2025 were $54,000 and $22,000 had been collected through June 30. The board had budgeted $10,000 for grants in 2025 and $5,400 of that was a pass-through to towns. Lisa calculated that, if all budgeted revenues are collected and budgeted expenditures occur, the fund would carry $177,007.83 into 2026; if no further revenue were collected and all expenditures made, the available amount for grants in 2026 would be about $148,828. (Commissioners discussed slight differences in calculations and staff confirmed the $148,000 figure reflected current expenditures.)

Lisa summarized the use tax fund: the county budgeted $850,000 in use-tax revenues for 2025 and had collected approximately $437,651 through June 30 (about 51% of budget). The use tax pays for recurring program activity such as White River Roundup, Columbine Park and certain transportation-related costs; Lisa showed budgeted program support of roughly $476,000 and said actual funding through June 30 was about $280,760, partly because some grant revenues had not yet been received. Lisa said current balances represent roughly four years (about 48 months) of cash on hand for the use-tax-funded programs under the board's budget assumptions.

For the CCITF fund, Lisa said budgeted investment income for 2025 was about $592,000 and $360,000 had been realized through June 30 (61% of budget). Budgeted expenditures for 2025 included grants to the Rangely School District and a Meeker Museum roof project, totaling $234,060; those expenditures had not yet been made as of June 30. Lisa reported total budgeted revenues over expenditures for CCITF of about $358,007, which would bring the fund balance to roughly $22.0 million. She noted CCITF funds are restricted for capital projects and can be granted to political subdivisions for capital projects; prior practice has been to use interest and distributions for capital benefits.

Commissioners voiced concern about future revenue uncertainty and possible cuts from external sources. A commissioner referenced a prior briefing from Heather Jones at AGNC indicating potential decreases in some outside funding beginning in October. Commissioners discussed putting a temporary hold on new external grants and reserving a specified portion of CDGF/CCITF for emergencies (for example, a sudden roof or sewer failure at a municipal facility). Staff was asked to return with a proposed dollar amount to reserve and to include that amount in the budget process; that direction will be handled administratively and would not be a formal budget amendment unless the board chooses to amend the budget later.

County staff and commissioners discussed policy and process: CCITF is subject to state statutory restrictions and is generally limited to capital projects; use tax and CDGF restrictions were established historically and can be changed by the board (by resolution or ordinance) if the board decides to do so. Staff noted Jeff Eskelson had previously researched whether principal in the CCITF would need to be expended before seeking FEMA assistance after a major disaster; that remains a consideration for long-term fund strategy.

No formal motions or votes were taken at the work session; commissioners instructed staff to draft reserve amounts and related budget information for future consideration.