The 2018 Proposed Budget was prepared incorporating the County objectives of:

  • Maintaining employee compensation at the compensation goal.
  • Consider additional funding proposals (above the basic 3% increase) that would be a benefit to the community and address required 2017 elements of the County's adopted Strategic Plan.
  • Identifying all budgeted ending fund balances (reserves) to assure that the funds are properly designated for future projects and/or services.
  • Implementing a new 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan to forecast the County's needs to replace, improve, or add equipment, assets and software that are important for the efficient and effective operation of county services.

The 2018 Proposed Budget includes approximately $486 million in gross expenditures. Of that total, approximately $256 million is for the provision of services ("Net Operating Budget"), $90 million is for capital projects, $41.5 million is related to disaster response, and $95.8 million is in non-operational accounts.

Among the Net Operating Budget, the budget is allocated between five Service Categories that group similar services together. The five Service Categories are:

  • Public Safety
  • Community Resources, Infrastructure and Planning
  • Human & Economic Health
  • Public Records & Information
  • Support Services

A variety of revenue sources support these expenditures by the County. The largest sources of revenue are:

  • Property Taxes
  • Sales and Use Taxes
  • State and Federal Revenues
  • User Fees (Charges for Services)
  • Charges and transfers within the County
  • The County's fund balance from prior year surpluses