Demolition, site work, renovation and addition to a detention facility in Montrose, Colorado. Completed plans call for the addition of a detention facility; for the demolition of a detention facility; for the renovation of a detention facility; and for site work for a detention facility.

**As of December 1, 2023 , this project has not yet been awarded. A timeline for award has not yet been established.** https://www.montrosepress.com/news/jail-courthouse-and-campus-projects-factor-heavily-into-county-s-proposed-budget/article_eb6b37ba-6a02-11ee-8dc0-e76f29fa04fc.html Next year, Montrose County will be left with an ending fund balance of about $56.9 million, if current budget projections for 2024 hold true. This reflects the beginning fund balance of $72.8 million, with projected revenues of $87.5 million, minus total expenditures of $103.4 million. As was the case for the 2023 budget, labor, inflation and major capital improvements are big factors for the county next year. In presenting the draft budget Wednesday, Montrose County Manager Jon Waschbusch kept coming back to huge drivers: the capital improvement projects, in the form of a jail renovation, renovation of the historic county courthouse on South First Street and a 50,000 square-foot new home for Montrose County Health and Human Services (the North Campus). For the past few years, large capital projects drove budgets “by a wide margin,” Waschbusch said, referring to the Montrose Regional Airport expansion that was accounted for in the 2022 and 2023 budgets. This time, he reiterated, it’s the North Campus and the jail projects impacting the bottom line. The county in planning its annual budgets uses a five-year model to monitor reserves and guard against shortfalls. This time around, four funds will dip a bit below targeted reserves. Waschbusch said the general fund is projected to go below reserve targets by $27,000 in 2028, although in the face of the millions in the fund, that decrease is negligible. “As the general fund is the backstop of all of our funds, we do still model a very conservative targeted fund reserve of 33%,” he said. That reserve would provide operating funds for four months. “The takeaway here is that the general fund is in excellent shape, just with the potential to be on the edge of targeted reserve at the end of the current modeling horizon,” he said. Based on the five-year modeling, the capital improvement projects fund is expected to dip below targeted reserves in 2026, with increasing shortfalls in 2027 and 2028. “Black is good, red is bad. You see red beginning in the CIP fund beginning in 2026. This is a key issue of this budget. It’s something we need to monitor as we move forward in discussion of our capital projects,” Waschbusch said, identifying the North Campus building as “the swing factor.” If the county cannot successfully reengage the U.S. Department of Agriculture for previously approved congressional earmarks that would furnish $7.725 million for the historic courthouse renovation, that would require debt service for the North Campus “as a downstream consequence” to fund the campus project. Montrose County earlier this year rejected the courthouse funding, citing “onerous” USDA requirements that included using a non-local contractor. The commissioners in May sent a formal letter of reengagement, after USDA State Director Armando Valdez visited Montrose to learn about the project. If this process is successful, the timeline for receiving the funding is still not known. “That debt issuance is, at least in this model, probably going to push that CIP fund into the red,” Waschbusch said. “That’s something we’re going to want to continue to discuss between now and final (budget) adoption in December.” The $7.725 million is not included in the budget revenue calculations at this time, because it’s not a certainty. “Nothing has been clear or easy in that project thus far. The most conservative path forward is to not count on that revenue,” he added. The public safety improvement fund shows a single-year shortfall in 2025, with a projection that uses a two-month reserve. Like the general fund, the actual dollar amount of the shortfall is not as critical as is the fact that the fund is spent “sort of up to the line of targeted reserve,” Waschbusch said. “This programming reflects the expenses that are included in the proposed budget. So, if we add expenses, the shortfall increases, If we reduce expenses, the shortfall decreases. That’s how it works with all of our funds.” The Social Services fund shows a small shortfall in 2028. “Due to the conservancy of the proposed budget, none of these projections are a financial emergency,” Waschbusch said. The projections are made to give commissioners advanced warning and a “cushion.” They can choose to spend more aggressively or conservatively, with the modeling in hand. The proposed budget also factors in the addition of about 11 new full-time employees, and an across the board 4.2% pay increase so county wages can remain competitive. The staffing additions are for the airport and an additional attorney to help Health and Human Services with the rising volume and complexity of dependency and neglect cases. The bulk of this position, which has already been hired, is reimbursed by the state, with 20% coming from the general fund. A potential wild card is Proposition HH. Among its provisions, Prop HH would reduce residential and commercial property assessment rates for tax year 2024 to 2032, but would make up for the revenue most special taxing districts would lose by using a portion of state Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, surplus to backfill. (School districts and home-rule governments are exempted from HH.) Opponents say Prop HH will take away TABOR refunds permanently while not really benefiting homeowners, but backers say the measure modifies the TABOR formula by 1%, while also targeting relief to senior citizens, and that TABOR refunds in times of surplus would continue. (Find more on each position at yesonhh.org and at votenoonhh.com) If HH passes, the Montrose County Assessor’s office anticipates having to collect and maintain more than 18,000 new applications for taxpayers claiming their homes as primary residences. Senior exemptions and more mass mailings will also add to the workload. If HH does not pass, though, the new position at the assessor’s office will be unnecessary and will be removed from the proposed budget. One position each is being added to Government Affairs and IT. The county opted to take on case management work for longterm Medicaid waivers, but this is fully funded by the state. It is adding positions for that to Human Services. As Waschbusch detailed in his presentation, the fund balance is the “50,000-foot view” summary of all funds. Between the budget years for 2020-2022, the county added $28 million to the overall fund balance. The $29.8 million reduction in the overall fund balance forecasted for this year and in 2024 are largely because of the completion of airport projects and the launch of the jail, courthouse and North Campus, he said, again circling back to those drivers. Money accrues for a planned project, but obviously decreases as the project is built and expenditures are made. The 2024 projected ending fund balance of $56.9 million is one “which puts us with healthy reserves back, generally, where we started before the accruals,” Waschbusch said. Waschbusch went on to summarize individual funds within the budget. A $725,000 decrease is projected in the general fund, due to transfers to other funds — again, primarily for capital improvements. The public safety sales tax fund will see a $4.6 million reduction due to the jail project. “The big one is a $14.3 million reduction in the capital improvement fund, as we undertake the courthouse and North Campus projects, should the board choose to undertake (them) ,” said Waschbusch. The airport fund balance is projected to increase by $4 million, mainly in operating revenue, as business and traffic there continue to soar. “The bottom line is an overall reduction of fund balance, about $15.9 million across all funds,” Waschbusch said. Total revenue for 2024 is coming in about about 4% above the revised 2023 projections, at $87.5 million, due to a $5.1 million increase in operating revenue that is in turn offset by a $1.9 million decrease in capital funding. Operating revenues, meanwhile, are anticipated to increase 7% over 2023’s, to $80.9 million. This increase is due to a projected $2.8 million increase in property taxes as the result of a record-busting property assessment year, plus $500,000 in federal funding for Medicaid case management program the county is taking on, as well as airport operating revenue. “The takeaway on the revenue side is that revenues are up,” Waschbusch said. The revenue increase is mirrored in expenditures, however, which includes an 8.4% increase in personnel costs, projected at $34.6 million. That’s due to the above-mentioned pay raises and addition of employees. Another driver: a whopping 15.2% increase in health insurance costs next year. “That is the primary driver of our employee benefit allowance, so it caused a 9.7% increase in the employee benefit allowance. Across 386 employees, that is a significant factor in the labor budget,” Waschbusch said. In all, total expenditures of $103.4 million stand at $5.3 million more than the 2023 revised budget, due to the $4.6 million increase in the total operating budget and a $725,000 increase in capital expenditures. Operating expenditures for 2024 are projected at $67 million, which is 7.3% more than the $62.5 million revised budget for 2023. These expenditures include the personnel costs totaling $34.6 million — an increase of $2.7 million over last year’s budget — and a $1.9 million increase in overall non-personnel operating costs. Non-personnel expenditures are projected to be $32.5 million, in part because of inflation. Other county staff discussed the numbers for the public safety sales tax, road and bridge sales and use tax and the projected authorized mill levy. Montrose County has until mid-December to forward a final, approved budget to the state, however, several steps remain. Stating Nov. 10, each county department will meet with commissioners to weigh in on the proposed budget, which can be revised based on that. Waschbusch earlier noted hard numbers for the jail work bid, revised estimates for the North Campus, and Prop HH results pose changes to the final budget. Final certification of property values is due Dec. 8. The final budget is to be presented for possible approval Dec. 13, delivered to state by Dec. 22, and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs in January. If HH passes, that timeline will probably shift, County Finance Director Cindy Dunlap said. Budget information can be found at https://tinyurl.com/moco24budget. The summary packet for the proposed budget can be found at https://tinyurl.com/moco24budgetsumm (both links redirect). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Montrose County is accepting sealed proposals from qualified firms or individuals for construction of the Jail Addition/Renovation Project to be performed at the Montrose County Jail located at 1200 N. Grand Ave., Montrose, Colorado. Questions must be submitted via e-mail no later than 5 PM, on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 to: Jennifer Murray, jmurray@montrosecounty.net. Late questions will not be accepted. The Board of County Commissioners may award the contract to the vendor based on the evaluation criteria outlined in the Request for Proposals. In reviewing the proposals received, the County reserves the right to reject, for any reason whatsoever, any and all proposals, and to waive any informality or irregularity in a proposal. The award of contract may be based on the complete proposal or any component thereof. The County reserves the right to negotiate with any finalists to maximize the value of the proposal to the County. The County reserves the right to reject all bids. The action to award a contract is subject to approval by the Board of County Commissioners. The submission of a proposal by any vendor does not in any way commit the County to enter into an agreement with that vendor.