MANTI—With little fanfare, the Sanpete County Commission adopted a record $24.7 million budget for 2022 a few days before Christmas.
“Believe me, we’ve tried to cut anywhere we can to make this budget work, much to the chagrin of some of the employees.”
Commission Chairman Scott Bartholomew
The commissioners said the county is feeling the effects of inflation and population growth.
“Several offices wanted full-time help that they didn’t get,” Commissioner Reed Hatch said. “You’re busier and busier. (The work) keeps stacking up.”
When the 2022 budget was first proposed, it looked a lot higher than the $16.6 budget the commission had approved at the end of 2021—$8.1 million higher to be exact.
But in keeping with standard practice, at the same time the commission adopted the new budget, it made adjustments to the previous year’s budget to reflect changes that occurred during the year.
For instance, some funds that were budgeted but never spent in 2020 (two years ago) were rolled into the 2021 budget. The county also received some grants during 2021 that it didn’t know about at the time it made up the budget.
With those types of adjustments, revenue for 2021 went up $4.3 million. That means projected revenue for the upcoming year is up by $3.8 million from last year—not by more than $8 million.
The commission also adjusted the expenditure side of the 2021 budget. Expenditures went from $16.6 million to $18.2 million.
As a result, projected 2022 expenditures are $6.5 million more than projected 2021 expenditures (final numbers still aren’t in)—not $8 million more as originally projected.
The added expenses in 2021 included a payment for public defenders that was billed in 2020 but not paid until 2021, additional equipment and personnel in the Sheriff’s Office, and road maintenance expenses beyond what was originally budgeted.
Nearly all of the expenses in 2021 beyond original budgeted amounts were covered in whole or in part by grants or other external revenue.
The commissioners and County Auditor Stacey Lyon noted that the single biggest difference between the 2021 and 2022 budgets is $3 million the county expects to receive in 2022 from the American Rescue Plan Act passed early in the Biden administration.
The county expects an additional $3 million increment in 2023, or $6 million total.
Lyon said the county might spend the money to construct a building for the Central Utah Health Department, a county-affiliated agency, on the courthouse grounds.
The commission hasn’t definitely committed to such a project yet, Hatch said, but such a building “would qualify under the terms of the act.”
In discussing the upcoming budget, the commissioners pointed to a line in the economic development budget labeled “Rural County Grant” for $200,000.
County Auditor Stacey Lyon explained the program used to be known as the Rural Fast Track Grant, and the money used to be administered by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED).
She said the state had decided to give the money directly to counties instead. Hatch noted that the state listed several things the money could be spent on, including business recruitment and workforce training. Counties have to come up with a 30 percent match for funds received.
Commissioners said Sanpete and Sevier counties decided to combine their funds and use them for scholarships in tech programs at Snow College. For example, Snow College has a program in fiberglass composites. And the county has companies that need workers in that area.
Bartholomew said a “generous donor” had come up with the matching funds.
Hatch said scholarship recipients might be required to work for a year or two in Sanpete or Sevier County after graduation.
