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Commissioners debate moving $75,000 from paths-and-trails to roads; staff to propose options
Summary
Staff proposed June budget amendments including reclassifying a Shelton Springs path expense from Road Fund to Paths & Trails and replacing beginning balances to actuals. Commissioners debated whether to transfer $75,000 from the Paths & Trails reserve to roads or split it; staff will propose a refined approach and procedural guardrails for future transfers.
County budget staff previewed a suite of changes for the first June budget amendment and highlighted a bookkeeping issue: a Shelton Springs path project was expensed from the Road Fund but could properly be charged to the Paths & Trails subaccount. Jennifer Berley, budget and finance manager, said staff propose reconciling beginning fund balances to actual cash and making several line-item adjustments, including a $500,000 revenue reduction tied to a land sale timing change and moving a previously planned Beards Cove pump replacement from 2025 into 2026.
A separate, more contested question was whether to reclassify $75,000 currently tracked in Paths & Trails. Commissioners said the Paths & Trails reserve has been built up over years to support future regional projects and grant matches; one commissioner said "I'd hate just to see us take such a huge chunk" because it could delay larger projects. Another commissioner proposed splitting the amount 50/50 with roads to balance bookkeeping and project readiness.
Staff said the fund could be operated as a base subfund within Roads, tracked separately but accessible via formal budget request. Commissioners directed staff to (1) return with a clear accounting approach that preserves a restricted reserve, (2) document when projects should be brought forward before expenditure, and (3) include fund-balance policy language in the 2027 budget guidelines. The board did not take a formal vote today; staff will prepare the detailed amendment for the June action agenda.
