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Ada County considers $5.4M vehicle shop plan, eyes $2M land purchase using foregone taxes
Summary
Ada County commissioners discussed using a portion of accumulated foregone taxes to buy land for a new vehicle maintenance shop and potentially fund construction; staff presented a phased option to buy land now ($2M) and build later or increase foregone use to ~$3.8M to complete construction sooner.
Ada County commissioners on June 16 considered funding options for a proposed county vehicle maintenance shop, including using a portion of previously foregone taxing authority to purchase land and accelerate construction.
Clerk Triple told the board staff had "found an alternative source to pay for KMA the $4.5 million" from a revenue-replacement reserve, which kept the county "in the green" on the fund balance and reduced pressure to use capital foregone taxes. That change prompted discussion about whether to buy land now or fund the full build-out.
A county project representative, Bob, presented revised cost estimates and said the county could "purchase the land" for about $2.0 million and would need roughly $3.4 million more for site improvements and building construction, on top of $1.66 million already committed, producing a total project estimate near $5.4 million. Staff described two main options: (1) fund only the land purchase now (approximately $2 million) and phase construction later, which would likely push building work to FY28, or (2) increase the foregone tax allocation from $2 million to about $3.8 million to allow for purchase and construction beginning in FY27.
The board discussed tax impacts. Staff walked commissioners through the foregone-tax concept, describing it as taxes "we have not previously taken" that have accumulated to about $33 million; legislative limits restrict capital foregone to 3% and ongoing foregone to 1%. Commissioners discussed how different foregone amounts would affect typical taxpayers, noting an illustrative change of about $30 down to $20 per taxpayer under one scenario if certain additional funding were approved.
Sheriff Bob also explained operational reasons for an off-site shop: limited bays at the Barrister campus force crews to juggle repairs and routine maintenance, he said, and relocating the shop would free land for future jail-support facilities and parking. The sheriff argued the move would improve maintenance efficiency for sheriff and county fleets.
No formal binding vote to adopt a specific funding path was recorded during the session; commissioners instructed staff to refine CIP priorities and come back with detailed numbers and timing. The board confirmed the budget remains on track and will return to these capital decisions as they finalize the tentative budget in August.
