Eddy County staff propose higher oil-and-gas revenue estimates, expanded fire funding and a $20.5M community development fund
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Summary
County staff proposed raising oil-and-gas revenue projections (toward ~$67–70M), increasing transfers from the fire excise fund toward personnel costs, creating a new Community Development Fund, and recommending personnel changes including a 2.5% or 5% COLA and dozens of reclassifications and new positions.
County staff briefed the commission on revenue and personnel assumptions for the FY26–27 budget and sought direction on several significant proposals: raising oil-and-gas revenue assumptions, increasing the transfer from the fire excise fund to cover more fire/rescue positions, creating a new Community Development Fund and moving surplus into it, and adopting targeted personnel and compensation changes.
Finance staff (identified in discussion as Roberta) proposed increasing production assumptions and moving the oil-and-gas revenue estimate closer to $67–70 million for FY27 rather than the earlier $55 million projection, driven by recent collections. She also described a proposal to increase transfers from the fire excise fund to $12.5 million to pay for more fire/rescue personnel; staff noted the fund’s stated cash balance and average annual operating revenue.
On personnel, staff presented a package of reclassifications, new positions (about 25 requested), and two COLA options: a 2.5% COLA (estimated at about $1,000,000) and a 5% COLA (about $2,000,000). Personnel proposals included insurance-cost increases, expanded bilingual and specialty pays, and pay adjustments to aid recruitment and retention. "I personally think the 5 percent would be the route to go," one commissioner said, citing retention concerns.
The commission approved a resolution to create a new Community Development Fund (GASB 54 classification) and voted to transfer $15,500,000 of the FY25 surplus plus an additional $5,000,000 (total $20,500,000) into the new fund to budget for one-time community improvements, commissioner discretionary allocations, and previously approved school-related projects. Staff said $2,000,000 of the funds were intended to cover previously discussed school operational support and $3,000,000 would be discretionary commissioner funding.
What happens next: staff will return to the commission with formal resolutions and budget documents reflecting the board’s direction, bring the proposed fire-excise transfer and position changes for formal consideration at the next meeting, and finalize the community fund accounting entries.