HomeMy WebLinkAbout20195018.tiffHEARING CERTIFICATION
DOCKET NO. 2019-144
RE: 2020 FINAL BUDGET
A public hearing was conducted on December 11, 2019, at 9:00 a.m., with the following present:
Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, Chair
Commissioner Mike Freeman, Pro-Tem - EXCUSED
Commissioner Sean P. Conway
Commissioner Scott K. James
Commissioner Steve Moreno
Also present:
Clerk to the Board, Esther E. Gesick
County Attorney, Bruce Barker
Director of Finance and Administration, Donald D. Warden
The following business was transacted:
hereby certify that pursuant to a notice dated November 5, 2019, and duly published
November 8, 2019, in the Greeley Tribune, a public hearing was conducted to consider the
2020 Final Budget for Weld County. Donald Warden, Director of Finance and Administration,
made this a matter of record and reviewed the summary of 2020 Budget Changes made since
the Proposed Budget. Mr. Warden further summarized budgetary amounts as reflected in
Exhibit A to the Adoption Resolution.
Chair Kirkmeyer opened the matter for public comment; however, there was no public
testimony.
Commissioner Moreno moved to approve the Resolution to Summarize Expenditures and
Revenues for Each Fund and to Adopt the 2020 Budget as submitted. The motion was seconded
by Commissioner James, and it carried unanimously.
IPA Mr. Warden confirmed Emergency Ordinance #256, In the Matter of the Annual
Appropriation for Weld County, Colorado, for Fiscal Year 2020, was previously read into the
record by audio, and he reviewed the amounts reflected in Exhibit A. He explained the emergency
status is due to the assessed valuation received by the Assessor five (5) days prior to the hearing
date. IE1 No public testimony was offered concerning this matter. Commissioner James moved
to approve Ordinance #256 on an emergency basis. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Moreno, and it carried unanimously.
WA Mr. Warden recommended approval of the Resolution setting the mill levy at 15.038 mills,
which is anticipated to generate $232,909,271.00. The total mill levy is actually 22.038 and he is
recommending a continuation of a temporary mill levy reduction of 7.000 mills, for a net reduction
of 8.361 mills and a temporary reduction for the general fund. Commissioner Moreno moved to
approve the Resolution to Set Mill Levy. The motion was seconded by Commissioner James,
and it carried unanimously.
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• Commissioner Conway requested a roll call vote concerning the mill levy. He stated the
County has had an unprecedented increase in valuation, and referenced an email (Exhibit A) from
Brenda Dones, Weld County Assessor, which reported the overall assessed valuation is
anticipated to increase from $15.7 billion to $16.6 billion and he believes the County should
increase the temporary mill levy reduction with a 1.0 mill decrease. He commented that Weld
County is the second highest valued county in the state, home prices are escalating, and this
would be for the benefit of taxpayers and small businesses.
• In response to Chair Kirkmeyer, Mr. Warden stated with approval of the 2020 Budget there
will be $60 million in the Contingency Fund, and he reviewed the amounts in various other
reserves for a total of approximately $114 million. He further stated, considering SB 181, he
prepared a projection with various scenarios and he is convinced the local economy will start
feeling the impact by 2021. He referenced various news articles regarding the state of the energy
industry in Colorado, noting many of the companies are overleveraged and investors are not
investing, and the number of oil rigs has decreased dramatically.
• Commissioner Moreno stated he respects Commissioner Conway's opinion; however, he
feels it is important to defer to Mr. Warden's decades of financial experience. He stated the Board
is maintaining a temporary mill levy reduction, which he supports. Mr. Warden noted 64% of the
assessed value is being paid by oil and gas, and it is important to use the revenue flow responsibly
to allow a 'soft landing" in the coming years.
le Commissioner James agreed he would like to decrease taxes during a record high assessed
valuation; however, he has utmost respect for the competence and recommendation of the
Finance Director, while still retaining the lowest mill levy in the state.
le Chair Kirkmeyer stated the Board is fully aware that they must be responsible agents of the
taxpayers' money to keep the County in good financial shape through use of the Strategic Plan.
She stated they go through the Budget in great detail to ensure there is no overspending, and
they pay cash for capital projects, with the goal of reducing the impact caused by the volatility of
the oil and gas industry. She referenced the impacts caused by various historical legislative
changes, noted there is an 18-24 month tax lag between market changes and when the taxes are
paid, and the State has approximately 4,100 oil and gas well permits in Weld County on hold, of
the 5,000 permits overall, resulting in a fifty percent (50%) reduction in permitting. She further
stated the reduction in severance tax funds will also have a negative impact on grant funding
opportunities, at which time the contingency fund amount will become very important for
maintaining County services. There being no further discussion, and upon the request for a roll
call, the motion carried four to one, with Commissioner Conway opposed.
There being no further discussion, the hearing was completed at 10:34 a.m.
2019-5018
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HEARING CERTIFICATION - 2020 FINAL BUDGET
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This Certification was approved on the 16th day of December, 2019.
APPROVED:
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
WELD COUNTY, CO ORADO
ATTEST: ditifeiv ' "&•
Weld County Clerk to the Board
BY:
eputy Clerk to the Board
Barbara Kirkmey , Chair
Steve Moreno
2019-5018
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Sean Conway
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Hello Commissioners,
Brenda Dones
Monday, October 28, 2019 4:37 PM
Barbara Kirkmeyer; Mike Freeman; Scott James; Sean Conway; Steve Moreno
Don Warden; Jennifer Oftelie; Jason Marini
2020 Assessed Values
Jason shared with me your questions from the budget session related to the 2020 Assessed values. Basically, we are
predicting that oil and gas valuation will remain about the same for 2020. Based on COGCC data, we are seeing an
increase in production for both oil and gas compared to 2019 data but that is offset by a decline in price which is why we
are expecting the overall oil and gas value to be flat.
Since 2020 is an intervening year we will not reappraise most property types and that means the majority of the value
increases will come from new construction. We expect a gain in residential, commercial and industrial of about 3%. The
biggest change we expect to see is in new gas plant valuation and we are predicting around 500 to 700 million in that
subclass.
Overall, I would expect our assessed value to increase from $15.7 billion to somewhere around $16.6 billion.
The assessment rates will remain the same in 2020 since they are calculated every two years. If the oil and gas value
drops in 2021 then we will most likely also see a drop in the residential assessment rate. I would guess that it would be
below 7% but there are so many pieces that factor into the rate that are still in the future that this is just a guess.
Hope that helps. If you need anything else then just let me know.
Thanks,
63 re vtd a
Brenda Dones
Weld County Assessor
970-400-3699
bdones@weldgov.com
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EXHIBIT
A
1
11111 Lev
02o0 -Sol
Weld County Assessed Value, Mill Levy and Revenue By Year
Assessed Value
$14,000,000,000
$12,000,000,000
$10,000,000,000
$8,000,000,000
$6,000,000,000
$4,000,000,000
$2,000,000,000
$-
Yea r
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Levy
16.804
16.804
16.804
16.804
16.804
16.804
2014
15.8
2015
2016
2017
15.8
15.8
15.8
2018
15.038
,LOOS ,L00
`LOtiO `lOtiti
Assessed Value
4,565,823,440
5,770,793,860
4,701, 208,970
5,421,862,840
6,513,483,280
7,118,834,517
9,130,081,870
11,583,103,260
9,151,948,370
9,401,131,360
11,764,028,910
O\r ,OPS ,LOtot
a Accnccari vailln
Revenue
76,724,097
96,972,420
78,999,116
91,108,983
109,452,573
119,624,895
144,255,294
183,013,126
144,600,941
148,537,781
176,907,524
i
ti ti ti ti
Rovnnl in
$ 200,000,000
$180,000,000
$160,000,000
$140,000,000
$120,000,000
$100,000,000
$80,000,000
$60,000,000
$40,000,000
$20,000,000
$-
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