The Summit Board of County Commissioners has approved a 2025 budget that dedicates more than $10 million toward road construction, which is reportedly the largest annual investment that the county has ever made in its roads.

The commissioners voted unanimously at their meeting Tuesday, Dec. 10, to approve the 2025 budget as recommended by county staff. County finance director David Reynolds noted that the draft budget that the commissioners reviewed in “deep dives” during work sessions over the past few months originally contained a $1.2 million deficit that has since been balanced.

Reynolds said that the “core” general fund is balanced in the 2025 budget, with total revenues of $56 million outpacing expenses by just a few thousands dollars. The “core” general fund refers to the general fund’s operating departments minus programs supported by specific tax revenues from the Strong Future Initiative or nicotine taxes, according to the county government.

Reynolds noted that higher-than-expected revenues from sales tax and the county’s investment portfolio helped to reduce the $1.2 million deficit that was originally in the draft budget. The deficit was also reduced by funding one of the Sheriff’s Office’s four System-wide Mental Assessment Response Teams with about $400,000 from the Strong Future fund and by other changes at the Sheriff’s Office, according to the county government.

While the total general fund still shows a deficit of $2.1 million, Reynolds said that is all coming from Strong Future Initiative funds, including programs the county has encouraged to spend down their reserves.

“That is all planned expenditures,” Reynolds said. “Operating budget is flat.”

The 2025 budget includes a new grant administrator position as well as a public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office, Reynolds said. There were also two new open space and trails ambassador positions as well as a new seasonal position and new full-time position at the landfill, he said.

Reynolds noted that a fifth SMART program unit was removed from the budget as well as a SMART sergeant, a county sustainability coordinator position and a third assistant county manager.

In 2025, the road and bridge department budget dedicates about $10.8 million toward road construction projects, Reynolds said. He has said that that would be the largest one-year investment the county has ever made in its roads.

The road and bridge department budget includes $6.5 million to start the reconstruction of Swan Mountain Road, a well-traveled mountain pass that the commissioners have said is in desperate need of repairs. It also includes $2 million for reconstruction of Straight Creek Drive, $700,000 for reconstruction of Highwood Terrace and $300,000 for reconstruction of Forest Drive.

“The county tends to have nine months of spending and three months of panic as we work on the budget for next year,” County Manager David Rossi said. But headed into 2025, Rossi said he hopes to provide more regular quarterly and monthly updates to the Summit Board of County Commissioners regarding where the budget stands.