Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Washington County adopts 2026 budget, moves $20 million to capital projects and approves pay changes
Summary
The Washington County Commission adopted the 2026 budget and approved compensation adjustments for county executives, and approved a $20 million reallocation (TRT and TRCCA funds) to capital projects including Dixie Center expansion, Legacy Park improvements and St. George Airport expansion.
The Washington County Commission unanimously adopted the county’s 2026 budget and approved modest compensation increases for executive county officers after a series of public hearings (open and closed on Dec. 15). Clerk/Auditor Ryan Sullivan said the amended budgets include a $20 million internal transfer to place tourism-related revenue into capital accounts for planned projects.
Sullivan told the commission: "The the 1st 10,000,000 are TRT, Transit Room Tax funds, that will be moving from our tourism fund, and be transferred to our capital projects fund." The $20 million transfer divides evenly between $10 million in TRT funds and $10 million in TRCCA funds; the TRCCA portion includes $1 million for EOC building expenses already completed, $5 million restricted for Legacy Park improvements and $4 million for St. George Airport expansion. Sullivan also listed about $1.74 million in additional TRT/TRCCA contributions for smaller projects including the Washington Canal Trail and a Zion National Park transportation study.
Commissioners heard that the amended 2025 budget was being trueed up rather than increasing taxes: "We're not increasing taxes, we're not spending any extra funds, we're just transferring $20,000,000," Sullivan explained during the public-hearing presentation. After closing the hearings with no public comments, the commission approved Resolution R-2025-3656 adopting the amended 2025 budget and R-2025-3657 adopting the 2026 budget with the compensation schedule changes. Commissioner Adam Snow moved to approve R-2025-3657; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.
The vote allows planned capital work to proceed under the new fund allocations and preserves the commission’s stated policy of avoiding property-tax increases to cover the shifts. The commission’s minutes note that some funds will be restricted for specific projects and that capital appropriations will be managed through standard project accounting and reporting.
