The Park County Commissioners approved a budget for this new fiscal year that includes just under $33 million in general fund expenditures, $28 million in revenue and more than $4 million in carryover funds to cover expenses.

The budget was approved following public hearings Monday night and Tuesday morning that elicited no public comment.

Projected revenue is up nearly $3 million over last year, while expenses are more than $3 million more than projected in the previous budget.

Park County also received $6 million through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) last fiscal year which will be primarily used to upgrade the City of Cody’s sewer lagoons to handle waste from rural Park County, as the county’s lagoons are aging and no longer adequate. Additional ARPA funds will be used for crushed gravel, HVAC replacement and community investmen. The county is expecting another $6 million in ARPA funds.

The budget also includes an average raise of more than 6% for county employees.

The county opened July with roughly $16 million in general reserves and it expects to have about $14 million in reserves when the fiscal year ends in June 2024. However, that’s a conservative projection. The federal government’s annual Payment In Lieu Of Taxes — compensation for Park County’s large tracts of federal land that don’t generate property taxes — will be put into reserves when received and included in the next fiscal year budget as a known amount, Clerk Colleen Renner wrote in a budget message.

“This change requires an initial reserve funding for the initial year of change,” she added. “Upon a change of policy to return to prior methodology, the reserve payment will be returned to the reserve balance. The PILT payment for FY24 will be $2,420,018.”

Another $4,446,357 is being held in Mineral Property Tax Reserves. Commission Chair Dossie Overfield said a couple energy companies opted to pay taxes early this year, a process now allowed by state statute. Those funds will be held over for the next budget.

Accounting Clerk Steve Pomajzl said much of the county’s cash carryover stemmed from supply chain issues, which prevented departments from completing projects they intended to do in the last fiscal year. Money was also saved due to a shortage of staff, as the county has had trouble filling positions.