On Dec. 11, Chelan County commissioners passed the 2024 budget, which projects $56.9 million in expenditures next year.
The Board of County Commissioners passed the budget following a public hearing. Commissioners plan to use $2.6 million from the county’s reserve fund to fill a gap between expenditures and projected revenues. Revenues are expected to be about $54.3 million.
“The county will start 2024 with a strong reserve. To hold that reserve at a healthy balance for when it may be needed, we work on not using it for large, ongoing costs,” said Nicole Thompson, county budget director. “While we will be taking money out to balance 2024 expenditures, we work to keep our expenditures as close to our revenues as possible. We are happy with how close we got this year and we’re still able to keep the county reserve at a healthy level for future years.”
Thompson added that oftentimes when the BOCC plans to use a portion of its reserves, it is a projection. This year, for example, sales tax revenues to date are up $1.4 million for 2023, which will help offset the $3.2 million in reserves that was projected to be needed for 2023, she said.
“In our budgeting, we typically over estimate expenses and under estimate revenues,” Thompson said. “That’s conservative budgeting.”
At the beginning of budgeting season, budget requests from the county’s departments came in about $5 million above projected revenues. Working with the departments, the BOCC was able to cut that in half.
In comparison, last year’s expenditures were $51.1 million. Some of the increases in expenses are related to the cost of doing business, including increases in wages, benefits and supplies, Thompson explained. Other costs are one-time costs coming in 2024, including outside services for assessments and surveys or equipment that a department needs, she added.
The 2024 budget allows for the hiring of seven new positions in a variety of departments: three deputies will be added to the Sheriff’s Office, one criminal deputy prosecutor to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, a financial services manager in the Auditor’s Office; a new appraiser in the Assessor’s Office and a public records officer in IT.
Commissioner Tiffany Gering emphasized that the increasing cost of doing business impacts everyone, including county government.
“With a healthy reserve, we are going into the new year on solid footing,” she said. “In the future, it will be increasingly important for the board to look at new ways, such as economic development, to spark revenue growth.”
Last Updated: 01/18/2024 08:32 AM
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Assessor's Office Community Meeting: Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee
Posted by: Chelan County Assessor
Chelan County Assessor Wes Cornelius invites property owners and all interested parties to attend one of four community meetings scheduled this spring throughout the county.