Why some items in the county budget look higher: This year, in-kind expenses were added

Tamela Baker, The Herald-Mail
·2 min read

For the first time this year, the county budget includes the value of "in-kind" sponsorships to various agencies that receive county funding.

In-kind transactions are not cash payments; they represent material or services the county provides to an agency. In these cases, the in-kind transactions are for the use of county-owned buildings, said Washington County CFO Kelcee Mace.

They're being included in Washington County's Fiscal Year 2025 budget per Governmental Accounting Standards Board and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles requirements, according to budget document notes.

Several agencies receive the transactions from the county government for the use of county facilities. For FY 2025, these agencies and the equivalent value of in-kind contributions include:

  • Washington County Commission on Aging, $433,600

  • Washington County Health Department, $688,550

  • General county operating, $1.2 million

  • Washington County Free Library, $1.38 million

  • Boonsboro library, $159,730

  • Clear Spring library, $130,110

  • Smithsburg library, $ 139,200

While these numbers are being included this year as part of the total General Fund budget allocations for these agencies, they don't represent new money; they're a reflection of the value of the use of county facilities the agencies already occupy.

For example, the proposed county funding for the Washington County Health Department for FY 2025 is nearly $3.2 million; $688,550 of that, however, is not money, but the value of using the county-owned building on Pennsylvania Avenue. That brings actual funding to $2.5 million, an increase of about $155,800 from the current budget.

Likewise for the Commission on Aging, the $1.6 million proposed for FY 2025 includes an in-kind value of $433,600 for use of facilities. The actual monetary increase from the current budget is $106,450.

What's in the county's next budget? Here's a look at the first draft for FY 2025

In-kind expenses total nearly $4.3 million of the proposed $301 million General Fund budget for FY 2025, which begins July 1.

While the FY 2024 budget currently in place did not originally include in-kind transactions, county officials say they will be included in the final adjusted budget for the year.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: In-kind expenses included for the first time in county budget