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Jefferson County posts about $2.5 million general-fund surplus, approves large package of carryovers and budget amendments
Summary
County finance director reported the general fund ended 2025 with “almost $2.5 million” in surplus and highlighted one-time and ongoing revenue boosts; the board approved a package of year‑end carryforwards and budget amendments and authorized soil sampling contracts tied to remediation at the old highway site.
The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors approved a set of year‑end carryforwards and budget amendments after a detailed briefing on 2025 financial results.
Mark, the county presenter, told the board “the general fund ended the year with a gain of almost $2.5 million,” and outlined fund‑by‑fund results: the health department fund showed a modest gain (about $46,250), while the human services fund ran a deficit of roughly $535,000 largely driven by higher placement costs. The county’s "live local development" fund opened with about $2 million in fund balance following a transfer from the general fund.
The presenter attributed the general‑fund surplus to several items: a $77,000 one‑time payment from a Watertown TID closure; a $750,000 utility‑aid increase tied to a liquid natural gas facility in Exonia; sales tax receipts roughly $740,000 above budget; and investment income that exceeded budget by about $850,000 (including $350,000 in unrealized gains). He noted unrealized investment gains are not budgeted because the county holds investments to maturity.
On capital and reserves, the presenter said the capital projects fund held about $1.3 million at year end, of which roughly $575,969 was described as unrestricted after set‑asides for closing costs and studies. He warned of likely larger remediation costs at the old highway site and an estimated county portion of a lift station of up to $1.1 million depending on TID revenues.
The board then considered a packet of carryforward requests and budget amendments. The packet presented to the board lists $44,761,228.16 proposed to be carried forward from fiscal year 2025 to fiscal year 2026; the transcript contains a garbled figure for the portion described as requiring county board approval, which is recorded in the packet but could not be reliably read in the meeting transcript. The finance committee recommended forwarding the requests; members voted to approve the resolutions authorizing the carryforwards and the related budget amendments on the board’s tablets (recorded roll‑call and voice votes were taken for the larger budget items).
The board also approved a $38,800 contract with The Sigma Group for NR718 soil sampling to refine remediation cost estimates tied to the sale and redevelopment of the old highway site.
What’s next: the finance director recommended applying a modest portion of unassigned fund balance toward 2027 capital needs to reduce the need for debt; supervisors will consider those recommendations in upcoming committee meetings.
