SIP funds and grants top Morrow County budget discussion as community groups seek recurring support

Morrow County staff presented detailed allocations for Strategic Investment Program (SIP) revenues during the budget review, and community groups used a public-comment slot to ask the budget committee for recurring and one-time funding.

Kevin Nims, Morrow County director and budget officer, told the committee the FY26 proposal anticipates total SIP-related revenues of about $8.8 million. Of that amount, approximately $2.6 million is contractually distributed to districts and municipalities and about $6.1 million would be retained by the county under existing agreements. Nims said the county typically allocates retained SIP money to a mix of operating and capital uses and listed FY26 allocations that include $1.8 million to the general fund, $1.8 million to the capital improvement program (CIP) and annual commitments to school districts and local projects such as the Columbia River Heritage Trail.

Why it matters: SIP revenues are a sizable discretionary resource in the county budget and staff said they can be used for capital projects, one-time investments and some operating support but cautioned against relying on them for core ongoing expenses.

Nims described how the county has used SIP funds: a portion supports ongoing program costs where appropriate, but most retained dollars have been assigned to capital reserves and project funding (heritage trail, courthouse, IT capital reserve and fair improvements). He said a common practice has been to set aside $600,000 annually toward a Heritage Trail reserve until a $2 million match target was reached; the FY26 proposal will reach that $2 million reserve and staff said the annual allocation would stop unless the board directs otherwise.

Community requests: multiple community nonprofit and service organizations appeared to request continued or increased county support during the meeting. Jared (identified as chairman of South Morrow County Seniors Matter) thanked the county for a $40,000 allocation that supports senior lunches, classes and volunteer coordination and described the program's reach into the county's older-adult population. Rosa Martinez and Rick Leeson described the food pantry network and senior center needs; both asked the committee to maintain funding amid rising costs and reduced other revenue sources. Kim (representing Willow Creek Valley Economic Development) described WICVED's work on housing and small-business support and noted county support helps leverage grants.

Wheat Ridge East / fire district request: representatives from Wheat Ridge East and adjacent stakeholders asked for $80,000 in annual funding to support fire department apparatus and services tied to new industrial development in the district. County Assessor Mike explained that recent SIP and construction activity affects assessed values and distribution timing; officials and committee members noted the step-up in SIP-related payments for that project will not be realized until the site enters production and tax payments are billed, likely in the next budget cycle. Nims recommended considering recurring new allocations only after the county's structural budget imbalance is addressed and after the SIP revenue inflows are realized.

Staff recommendation: Nims said the county's historical approach has been to retain SIP additional monies for capital priorities and one-time uses (for example, $1 million annual payments to school districts and targeted capital reserves). He urged the committee to avoid using SIP revenue to fund ongoing overhead without a contractual or guaranteed revenue stream. "That money is discretionary and should be used for projects and reserves rather than ongoing core personnel and daily operations," he said.

Next steps: the committee did not adopt new recurring awards during the meeting. Members asked staff to consider a formal process for future community funding requests that would define priorities, application timing and evaluation criteria so awards are transparent and aligned with county strategic priorities.