Budget Hearing Meeting – Capital Fund, October 7, 2026

This was the Capital Fund budget hearing on October 7, 2026. Finance director Vernon Roth walked Fund 50 with commissioners and staff. No roll-call votes. No public comment. This is the capital fund. It is not the general fund and it is not the $400,000 operating shortfall. There are two money piles. The first is Fund 50 itself. Working 2027 revenue is $1,139,250. Working expenses before the extra pieces are about $1,239,520. That is already a gap. The second pile is what gets added on top: a $300,000 underfunded-courthouse grant that is not yet in the revenue column, and a roughly $180,000 balloon payment on the Road and Bridge graders. After those, expenses run further ahead of revenue. A $300,000 transfer from the general fund (or from fund balance) is in the sheet and may be swapped later. Revenue lines are ordinary capital sources. The 0.5% sales-tax share (the other 1.5% stays in the general fund) is budgeted at $350,000, down from $375,000 in 2026 and $429,000 in 2025. Grant revenue is $254,000, mostly airport reimbursement. Sale of assets is a $100,000 placeholder. Building and zoning fees are $35,000. Sales and use tax is $100,000. Interest was discussed as a possible offset; past interest has been used for other funds, and the room noted Weld County’s much larger reserve earnings as a contrast, not as a Custer number. Expense lines are mostly leases and projects, not new debt. Counties cannot bond in the ordinary sense; these are capital leases. County Commissioners capital improvement is $20,000 for Thin Air Communications work on radio towers. Assessor is $4,000 for a plotter lease. Buildings and Grounds is $52,640 for the land payment next door and roof work. Landfill is $210,000 for compactor and scraper payments; the scraper was justified because rental had run about $70,000 for two months. Airport is $282,500 for the runway-light project, first year of a 90/10 split (county 90%). Sheriff is $84,000 for financed vehicle payments; no new vehicles. Wetmore Community Center is $28,000 for a conventional split-unit air conditioner. Road and Bridge is $263,452 for three grader payments, a tractor, and a tank trailer, and that line is where the balloon sits. The courthouse roof piece is the same $300,000 Underfunded Courts path heard on September 30. It is a 5% upcharge structure that nets about $285,000 after the county’s share. It covers the court portion, not the whole building. Broadband gear on the roof has to move. An engineer of record is still required. The balloon on the graders is about $180,000 and may hit in March or September. Using interest or refinancing was discussed and not decided. Asset sales were named. A small grader Scotty does not want is headed to auction. A Dodge diesel bought with ARPA for public health cannot be sold yet. Auctioneer contracts (one cited at 30%) need a workshop; a minimum-bid process was preferred so residents can buy. No motion closed the $1,139,250 revenue, the $1,239,520 expense, the $300,000 transfer, the courthouse grant, or the balloon. Next steps named were the auction workshop, the engineer for the roof, and a later decision on whether the $300,000 comes from the general fund or from fund balance.