The Moffat County Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 14 approved an amendment to the establishment agreement for the newly formed Moffat County Economic Development Authority (EDA) and adopted the EDA's proposed 2026 budget.

Jeff Comstock of Natural Resources presented two action items on behalf of the authority: first, a proposed amendment to the EDA establishment agreement removing the requirement that both the county and city appoint three additional committee members to help establish the authority budget; and second, adoption of the authority's 2026 budget. Comstock said the amendment allows the authority treasurer to submit a budget directly to the county and city; if either governing body disagrees, the previous process (appointing three representatives from each jurisdiction) would be reinstated as a fallback.

Comstock said the 2026 authority budget envisions initial contributions of $5,000 each from the city and county and a $5,500,000 contribution from Tri-State beginning in January 2026, with projected interest and a limited expense profile for board insurance, legal fees and fund management. “’26 shows the $5,000 contribution that the city and the county have made. It shows a $5,500,000 contribution from Tri State starting January ’26,” Comstock said, describing the one-year and five-year projections included in the packet.

A commissioner moved to approve Resolution 2025-95, described by staff as the first amendment to the establishment agreement, and to waive the existing budget preparation procedures where necessary to meet timing constraints. The board voted in favor of the resolution. Following that vote, the board adopted the Moffat County Economic Development Authority budget for 2026; the adoption requires supermajority approval by both the county and city and formal adoption by the authority itself.

Comstock noted that the authority intends to preserve principal and use earnings to support economic development objectives; in the projection provided to commissioners, the fund balance grows substantially through 2029 if Tri-State contributions and the assumed investment return are realized.

The board approved both the amendment and the 2026 EDA budget during the meeting; county action is one step in a three-way process that also requires city council and EDA board action for the budget to be fully enacted.