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Davis County auditors file 2025 tentative budget after unanimous approval; commissioners approve budget amendments
Summary
Davis County Auditor Curtis Koch filed the 2025 tentative budget Oct. 29 and commissioners unanimously approved related budget amendments and the filing. The plan warns of general-fund spend-down, recommends modest employee COLA and merit increases, and proposes repealing a corridor preservation fee with possible tax action in 2026.
Davis County Auditor Curtis Koch presented the county—s 2025 tentative budget to the Davis County Commission on Oct. 29, 2024, and commissioners unanimously accepted the filing after a public hearing and a series of budget amendments.
Koch told the commission the filing is prepared under Utah Code Annotated 17-36-10 and noted total revenue changes of $15,243,323 and expense changes of $15,627,115 across multiple funds. He said recommended adjustments reduce an initial general-fund departmental shortfall and project a roughly $7.4 million spend-down of general-fund reserves for 2025 if no additional revenues are found.
The auditor recommended a countywide 0.5% cost-of-living adjustment for employees and keeping merit increases available up to 3.5%. He also outlined modest increases in health savings account contributions and a series of interfund transfers and reallocations, including a $423,908 transfer from Fund 62 (information technology) back to contributing funds to address built-up internal-service balances.
Koch described several large reallocation and transfer items that appear throughout the tentative budget: a $656,325 transfer from Fund 25 to Fund 22 tied to Prop 1 transportation accounting; increased pass-through transportation revenues recognized at $12,500,000 in Fund 26 to reflect higher-than-anticipated levies; and several Fund 62 reallocations into library, public works, and other funds. He also outlined the new Davis County Shooting Range department funding (buildings and grounds, land improvements and operating supplies) with shared support from the general fund and the tourism and recreation fund.
Koch highlighted planned capital spending and noted a $16.5 million budget for a new animal shelter funded from capital reserves (Fund 45). He also recommended the commission repeal the local corridor preservation fee by April 1, 2025—returning an estimated $3.2 million annually to taxpayers—and consider a tax increase of about $3.2 million in 2026 to slow reserve spend-down.
Commissioners opened and closed a statutorily required public hearing on the budget and approved the one-time amendments presented for Oct. 29, 2024. Commissioner (Unidentified) moved to accept the auditor—s filing of the tentative budget; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Koch said the detailed 400-page document will be posted online and that the commission will have an opportunity to revise the tentative budget between filing and final adoption, which state law requires no later than Dec. 31, 2024. He also scheduled a hearing for final adoption on Dec. 3, 2024 at 6 p.m.
The filing document includes department-level appendices and a five-year capital plan; the auditor warned that without revenue increases or expense reductions several funds (notably the general fund and certain municipal-type service funds) show projected unsustainable spend-down within a three-year window. The commission voted unanimously to accept the filing and to approve the accompanying budget amendments that were on the agenda.
