Building Services flags LEC utilities spike; board moves cooler purchase to medical‑examiner review

Kenny Schmidt, director of Building Services, presented the county’s facility budgets and urged supervisors to account for rising utilities and deferred maintenance. Schmidt said operating budgets are heavily weighted toward utilities and repairs, and that recent usage at the new Law Enforcement Center (LEC) has been higher than expected. "Our budgets are a little bit difficult in that they're driven by utilities," Schmidt said, noting that water usage at the LEC has averaged $7,500–$8,000 per month recently and that the line initially proposed at $77,200 may not be sufficient.

Supervisors voted to receive the LEC budget and approved an increase of the water and sewer line to about $100,000 for FY27 to better reflect usage patterns. Schmidt also included a prospective $30,000 line for the auditor’s carpet and other building maintenance items that were shifted into operating rather than CIP to simplify funding.

Separately, the board removed a $45,000 cooler line that had been placed in the building‑services budget for morgue/medical‑examiner use and directed staff to handle that procurement and ongoing costs in coordination with the medical examiner and the MORGUE/ME agenda item at the following session. The board’s motion adjusted Building Services’ LEC budget accordingly and preserved the option to reallocate maintenance funds if needed.

The board received the building‑services packet and requested more granular estimates for major anticipated costs and any continuing expenses tied to the county‑run morgue and LEC operations.