Tooele County manager presents tentative budget overview, flags one-time revenues and high fund balance

County Manager Andy Welch told the Tooele County Commission at a Nov. 5 work session that the county's tentative budget shows a healthy fund balance and a number of department staffing and capital requests that the manager's office is consolidating for council review.

Welch said the county's external auditor pegged the 2024 fund balance near $50 million and the county's internal estimate is roughly $47 million. He noted state code caps a general fund balance at 65 percent of general fund revenues and reminded the council of a previously discussed guideline to maintain roughly 45 percent of general fund revenues for ongoing reserves.

'We're in really good shape,' Welch said, adding that much of the apparent surplus stems from near-term and one-time increases in revenue, including higher interest earnings and a larger-than-expected payment related to local mitigation receipts from energy facilities.

The manager outlined compensation assumptions used in the tentative budget: a 3.25 percent cost-of-living adjustment and a merit pool up to 2 percent (the manager's office estimates merit payouts will average about 1.25 percent based on last year's evaluations). He also listed department requests for new full-time positions in the assessor, recorder, jail, sheriff, roads, solid waste, and human services departments, plus several partial-FTE increases in parks and recreation, aging services, and the auditor's office.

Welch cautioned council members about counting on one-time receipts for ongoing costs. He singled out a near-term increase in revenue tied to the county's West Desert mitigation receipts from Energy Solutions, noting the county expects more revenue this year than the long-run average but said that money should not be used to fund recurring staff costs. He also said there were ongoing discussions with the state regarding a possible sale of courthouse property that could yield about $2.5 million spread over two years if approved by the legislature; Welch said that sale was not finalized and could be removed from the budget if it did not materialize.

The manager walked through fund-level summaries that show some individual funds above the council's 45 percent guideline and suggested moving excess general-fund balances into capital projects to fund long-term needs such as roads and facilities maintenance. He also reviewed revenue categories and timing quirks, including the concentration of property-tax collections in December and an anticipated increase in interest income versus last year's conservative budget.

The manager's presentation will feed into department-level discussions and follow-up questions; staff members were invited to provide additional information after the meeting when needed.