PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County spent nearly $3 million in the first quarter of 2023 while it brought in $1.3 million in additional revenues.
Chief Accountant Judy Shepherd told the Board of County Commissioners on Monday that the changes in the budget were corrections to the original budget passed in the fall, often reflecting the receipt of grants which weren’t known at the time.
Revenues to the general fund in the first quarter were $229,597 while expenditures were $329,999, according to meeting documents. Revenues to other funds were $1,101,262 and expenditures $2,663,744 for a total of $1,330,859 in revenues and $2,993,743 in expenditures.
The two largest expenditures were for $1 million apiece. The county added $1 million from the Public Infrastructure Fund to the Sims Gateway Project and transferred another $1 million from the capital improvement fund for the tri-area sewer project in Port Hadlock.
The transfer for the sewer project — which is largely funded by grants — was to provide liquidity to the county as there is often a lag between when grants are received and when contractors need to be paid. There is an expectation, Shepherd said, that money would be paid back.
Other additions to the budget included $164,000 in grant funding to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office for a navigator position and substance abuse treatment programs; $103,000 for a case manager in the newly established therapeutic courts and $101,665 for renovations to the Olympic Peninsula Gateway Center for the transition between the Jefferson County Historical Society and the Tourism Coordinating Council.
District 1 Commissioner Kate Dean called the changes to the budget “status quo” and said that, generally, county departments are not coming to the board with additional funding requests.
The three commissioners approved the amended budget unanimously.
The county’s approved 2023 budget included $86.2 million in expenditures and $78.9 million in revenues, according to budget documents.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
