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BCC Approves 2010 Budget
Commissioners unanimously voted to adopt the 2010 budget. The adopted budget of $412.3 million represents a 6.5 percent increase from the 2009 budget when excluding interfund transfers, which total $94 million.
 The 2010 Adopted Budget includes a reallocation of mills to help pay for an increased demand for social services. Twenty-five percent more families are relying on child-care assistance and 28 percent more need food stamps and other assistance. Although the county receives state and federal funds for these programs, the county is required to match a percentage. As a result, the adopted budget called for decreasing the mills allocated to some funds, including the Library Fund, to help pay for social services.
Following the Citizen Budget Review Panel's recommendation, Commissioners approved the creation of a Building Maintenance Reserve Fund with a starting balance of $3 million. Pam Feely and Christopher J. Conant, two members of the Citizen Budget Review Panel, told Commissioners at the Hearing that the panel was unanimous in its support for the fund.
"We just want to reiterate how important we felt it was that Commissioners establish a Building Maintenance Reserve, so that we are able to maintain our buildings and our assets and be able to maintain them when it works best for us - not in an emergency state, such as when something goes out," Feely said.
Some notable expenses in the proposed budget include:
- $2.9 million in mid-term election costs
- $1.3 million in the pavement management program
- $6.8 million in annual debt service payment for the 2009 Certificates of Participation issuance
- $20.2 million in road and bridge construction projects
- $5.1 million in fleet replacement programs for the Sheriff's Office and the county
- $5 million for Open Space land acquisition
Staff proposed adding three additional full-time equivalent positions - two in Open Space and one in the Public Trustee's Office. The county has approved about 2,900 full-time equivalent positions. During the Staff Briefing, Commissioners also approved a supplemental appropriation to the 2009 Adopted Budget that represented $71.6 million in expenses and $69.7 million in revenue. About $67.4 million of both the expenses and revenue was from bond proceeds related to the refinancing of 1999 Open Space bonds, which are used to acquire new land. The supplemental appropriation also included intergovernmental revenue and grants to various county departments, including $1.4 million to the Public Health Department for H1N1 vaccination efforts and $470,000 for the Developmental Disabilities Resource Center. Learn more by viewing the entire 2010 Adopted Budget. |
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County to Conduct Citizen Survey in 2010
The Jefferson County Public Information Office is working with a consultant to conduct a survey of 3,000 adult residents of unincorporated Jefferson County in 2010. Public Information Officer Kathryn Heider updated Commissioners on the survey during the Staff Briefing.
The county conducted its last citizen survey in 2004. Commissioners will use the 2010 results to evaluate services and programs, assess community needs and help with strategic planning. The company conducting the survey, National Research Center, of Boulder, said it receives an average response rate of 30 percent for similar surveys for jurisdictions across the nation.
The survey, which will be available in Spanish upon request, asks citizens a variety of questions that address quality of life, safety, county customer service and more. Only one person per household is requested to respond. National Research Center sends the survey to a cross-section of Jeffco citizens based on geography and demographics.
The survey will be mailed in early January, and citizens will be asked to complete the survey and return it by early February. In March, NRC will deliver results to Commissioners. The county is paying $24,700 to NRC for creating, administering and reporting.
For more information, contact Citizen Involvement Coordinator Jennifer Kostka by e-mail or at (303) 271-8521. |
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Human Services Requests Two Contract Increases
Commissioners approved increases to two contracts between the Jefferson County Department of Human Services' Division of Children, Youth & Families and service providers, because the division is seeing more people with a continued need for these services and successful results.
 One increase went to Intervention Community Correction Services, Inc., which provides substance abuse treatment and substance abstinence monitoring for the Division of Children, Youth and Families. These services enable parents to successfully heal from substance abuse and dependency issues, so they can provide for their children's safety and stability. This prevents children from being placed in other homes away from their families and reunites children who are in placement with their families.
The contract will increase $250,000 to a total of $400,000. The county is responsible for 20 percent of the total contract, or $80,000, which is included in the 2009-2010 budget.
The other contract is with Savio House, a Denver nonprofit that provides home-based family treatment, mental health, substance abuse, out-of-home placement and offense-specific treatment services for the Division of Children, Youth and Families. In 2009, the division, in partnership with the 1st Judicial District, implemented the Family Integrated Treatment Court to improve services and outcomes to families with substance abuse. This has increased the need for quality substance abuse treatment services.
Savio House's intensive home-based therapy services assist the county in preventing children and youth from being placed outside of their homes and helping to reunite children and youth who have been in placement. The contract will increase by $450,000 to $2.2 million, of which the county is responsible for 20 percent, or $440,000. Funds for this are also available in the division's budget. |
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Other BCC Actions
County Contracts with Telephone Maintenance Provider
Commissioners approved a new $176,600 contract with Avaya, Inc., of Basking Ridge, N.J., to maintain the county's telephone system. Avaya is the manufacturer of the county's phone system, including inbound and outbound dial tone service, voicemail and integrated voice-response applications. Because the county's system is so complex and login security is important, county staff told commissioners that Avaya is the best company to maintain the system. The contract is from January through December. Board Maintains Traffic Impact Fees The county will not adjust the 2010 Traffic Impact Fee from 2009. The Commissioners agreed to maintain the current Traffic Impact Fee assessed at the time of building permit review. The fee applies to new residential development and all nonresidential development or expansion in unincorporated Jefferson County. County policy requires the Commissioners to increase traffic impact fees by the same percentage increase in CDOT's construction cost index. However, in 2009, the construction cost index declined by 24 percent from 2008. Last year, the county collected $1.3 million in traffic impact fees, which go to needed improvements on existing roads and streets in unincorporated Jefferson County. |
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