HomeMy WebLinkAboutWORKSHOP re Budget for Public Works - Presentation
2026 Public Works Budget Workshop
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Public Works Budget Workshop
Engineering Services
Parks and Recreation
Roads Maintenance
Sewer
Solid Waste
Public Works Overview
&
Equipment Rental & Repair
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Jefferson County Public Works Overview
74 Staff
County Roads: 400 road miles + 13 multi-use trail miles, 38 bridges and ±2500 culverts
ER&R: ±250 county vehicles/equipment, 3 maintenance shops and 3 fuel sites
Parks & Recreation and Parks Improvement: 23 parks and a robust recreation program
Solid Waste: In 2025, ±25,000T garbage, ±2,600T of recycling, and ±45T of HHW
Port Hadlock Sewer Project: Currently operating with expansion in the works
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Public Works Overview
Justification for expenditure to revenue delta: 1) Repayment of PHUGA line-of-credit 2) Solid Waste borrowing from fund balance for capital improvements
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Public Works Overview
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Public Works Overview
8.54% Staffing Decrease
174
174
174
542
543
595
175
185
186/7
304
405
406
401
505
Fund
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Engineering Services &
Roads Maintenance
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Engineering Services
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Engineering Services
Summer 2025 construction of the Milo Curry Road to Anderson Lake State Park segment of the Olympic Discovery Trail. Construction of this 3.5 miles of multi-use trail will cost approx.
$4M. This work is 100% grant funded and being constructed by Seton Construction.
2024 Center Road MP 10.34-14.58 2R project. A 4.24-mile-long mill-and-fill asphalt overlay constructed by local Lakeside Industries, Inc. for approximately $1.2M. Project was 100% grant
funded.
2024 West Valley Road/Naylors Creek fish barrier culvert replacement project. Two culverts were replaced by local Nordland Construction for approximately $1.7M. Project was 100% grant
funded.
This 50-year-old steel culvert located at MP 0.84 on Snow Creek Road was collapsing and the road was at extreme risk of washing out. After 7 years of searching for funding, the County
was awarded FEMA Hazard Mitigation funds to pay for 80% of the $1.3 million replacement cost. The remaining 20% was obtained through a low-interest loan that the County will pay off
over 20 years. There are 2,500 more culverts under Jefferson County roads, most of them older than 50 years and most of them rusting out.
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Roads Maintenance
Combined Roads (Maintenance
& Engineering)
The County Road fund provides for the maintenance, planning, and improvement of county roads (approx. 400 centerline miles) and shared use facilities (12 miles of regional trails including
the Larry Scott Trail, Rick Tollefson Trail, and Olympic Discovery Trail). Road maintenance includes maintaining road surfaces, pavement preservation treatments, drainage facilities,
vegetation control, and snow and ice control, and bridges.
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Roads Maintenance
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Roads Staffing
Roads (180) was used as an example of Public Works’ staffing trend. It would be difficult to clearly graph the entire department due to elimination of Central Services in the early 90’s;
PW’s recent acquisition of ER&R, and the addition of the Sewer project and its associated staff.
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Total Roads
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Transportation Benefit District
As shown in the graph above, regular road revenues have grown annually at an average rate of only 1.6%. Anyone who has been paying attention should realize that even in good years,
inflation exceeds this figure, and the Construction Cost Index (CCI) has significantly outpaced the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the last 20 years. To respond to this widening gap
between revenues and expenses, Jefferson County has cut its annual chip seal program nearly in half, reduced other road programs, and reduced staff by over 20%. This is showing up
in the condition of the road system; however, since the changes occur slowly, not everyone will be aware of this trend until the results become acute. The photo to the right shows
what happens when streets/roads are neglected too long. If they aren't preserved, then they eventually have to be rebuilt at vastly increased cost. Regular preservation treatments
are the most cost-effective way to take care of a road system. Letting it fall apart is not an option.
The TBD is an attempt to correct the troubling trend that has been developing in the County Road program as revenues have not kept up with necessary expenditures.
JC TRANSPORTATION BENEFIT DISTRICT
The Transportation Benefit District (TBD) was established in 2025. The intent was partially to replace lost revenue lost due to the 2011 curtailment of most of the federal timber subsidy
(Federal Forest Title I funds) which cut nearly $1,000,000 annually from the Road Fund, and to also start to address some of the widening gap between property tax and gas tax revenues,
which are growing at less than 2% per year, and expenses which have been increasing at rates of 4% to 8% annually in many sectors of road construction and maintenance. In 2025, the
Board funded the TBD with a 0.1% sales tax (10 cents on a $100 purchase) and a $20 car license tab fee. This is estimated to product about $400,000 of revenue in 2025 and $1,000,000
annually in 2026 and beyond.
TBD revenue can be used for any legitimate road maintenance or construction expense on a county road. In Jefferson County, the TBD funds will be prioritized for road preservation activities
first - primarily chip sealing, asphalt patching, and paving. These expenditures typically exceed $1,000,000 per year on Jefferson County's road system and are still considered inadequate
to maintain county roads at ideal levels.
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Equipment Rental & Repair (ER&R)
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ER&R
ER&R 2026:
-Maintain approximately 250 vehicle/equipment assets and three fuel sites.
-Replace several JCSO patrol cars, acquire a Juvenile Services car, and replace a specialize brush cutter for the Road Maintenance division.
-Provide appropriate inventory levels of Roads materials including chip seal emulsion, chip seal rock, pit materials, road salt/sand, and culverts.
-Supply reliable sources of gasoline and diesel. Maintain/replace pumps, fuel software, and underground tanks.
-Maintain facilities and equipment needed to provide these services and work with Central Services to develop a short and long-range plan for facility (shop) maintenance.
-Develop plans/budget for shop remodel to house the Road Crew.
-Continue to participate with other County leaders in the possible transition from the CAMS financial system to MUNIS and/or other integrated Fleet software.
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Parks & Recreation and
Parks Improvement
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Parks and Recreation
Total Fund Balance $ 216,641 $ 259,158 $ 203,330 $ 192,123 $ 149,903
All aspects of Parks and Recreation have become far more demanding but Parks and Recreation resources have not increased to meet the demand. The gap has been closed through innovations
in equipment, management, volunteerism, partnerships, grant funding, and fee increases, but it is not enough. Parks and Recreation is a core service and should have dedicated and sustainable
funding. If general fund revenue is unable to keep pace with rising costs, then policy makers should seek other sustainable revenue sources. The option of reducing services is not a
viable solution for the community.
The increase in the 2026 General Fund request is roughly $62k after a $26k 3rd Qtr. budget appropriation in 2025. This $62k is roughly split salaries and facilities/ER&R cost increases.
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Parks Improvement
All aspects of Parks and Recreation have become far more demanding, but Parks and Recreation resources have not increased to meet the demand. The gap has been closed through innovations
in equipment, management, volunteerism, partnerships, grant funding, and fee increases, but it is not enough. Parks and Recreation is a core service and should have dedicated and sustainable
funding. If general fund revenue is unable to keep pace with rising costs, then policy makers should seek other sustainable revenue sources. The option of reducing services is not a
viable solution for the community.
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Parks and Recreation
& Parks Improvement
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Parks Improvement
Parks Projects Funded by the Jefferson County Capital Improvement Fund*
Total =$323,700
Note that the Memorial Field Grant Match of $148,200 is also shown in the RCO Funded Projects table above*
$30,500
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Parks Improvement
The two charts summarize campground use and campground revenue. Campground revenue has been very strong at roughly 4 times what it was in 2008. Campground use is strong, but does reflect
the nationwide post-pandemic slump in camping.
Photos of the 2025 Courthouse basketball court renovation project and Gibbs Lake day use area. Also, Memorial Field during an event, as well as the to be replaced in 2026 fence, scoreboard,
(and goal posts).
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Solid Waste
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Solid Waste
Revisions to the solid waste disposal fees adopted by the Board of County Commissioners that became effective October 3, 2023 began to return fund balances to prudent levels. A new
minimum fee did not substantially reduce minimum load self-haul customers and reduce average wait times for all customers as had been expected and the high percentage of this customer
group relative to all customers continues to drive costs upward and reduce operational efficiency. A low-income discount program made available on October 3, 2023 continues to gain
in use.
Urgently needed Capital repairs and equipment replacement at the transfer station were identified in early 2025 and the Board of County Commissioners adopted a $15/ton Capital Surcharge
on top of the per ton disposal rate, effective August 1, 2025, to generate funding of the improvements needed for uninterrupted service.
The 2026 budget includes a $1,100,000 grant/loan from the Public Works Trust Fund Board for replacement on the facility scales and scale house. These scales are over 40 years old and
rusted out. Their failure would cause significant interruption to the facility. This grant/loan has yet to be applied for and the exact grant/loan mix is unknown at this time. Jefferson
County may be eligible for up to 50% grant based on the PWTFB definition of financially "distressed" county. Any portion of the funding mix that is a loan is likely to be at very low
interest over a 20-year repayment horizon, typically 0.5% for distressed counties. Principal on a $1 million loan would therefore be $50,000 per year and interest of less than $5,000
per year. This loan would initially be serviced by the $15/ton capital surcharge which at 25,000 tons per year would generate $375,000 per year in capital funds.
The public planning process for the rebuilding or replacement of solid waste facilities continues apace with staff workload and is expected to be completed in 2026. By consensus, the
Solid Waste Facility Task Force decided against rebuilding the current facility due to space constraints and selected a County-owned property on the State Route 104 corridor for the
future transfer station. Conceptual design work is underway and will be followed with cost estimating and a financing strategy.
Staff will begin working with the Solid Waste Advisory Committee on a required update to the Solid Waste Management Plan following completion of the facility replacement planning process.
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Solid Waste Capital Outlay
Solid Waste Capital Outlay is not a separate fund but rather a subset of fund 401. Therefore the sums on this slide are incorporated into the previous slide but included here to provide
a snapshot of just the capital program (i.e. 2026: scale replacement, grizzly reconfiguration (retaining wall/excavator), and preliminary engineering for facility replacement).
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Solid Waste
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Tri-Area Sewer
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Tri-Area Sewer Capital
Increase in Ending Reserved Fund Balance Funding is due in part to $85k in additional PIF funds to cover repayment of Dept. of Ecology loan.
$240k _2021-2024
$325k _2025-2032
$85k _2033-2044
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Tri-Area Sewer Operations
Subtracting the one-time ARPA funds and the $250k General Fund transfer, projected sewer expenditures exceed projected revenues by approx. $155k. This difference will comer out of fund
balance. At this rate the Sewer Operations Fund will run out in less than 2 years. As has been discussed previously, the General Fund will need to subsidize the Sewer until an adequate
number of connections make it self-sufficient.
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Tri-Area Sewer
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