Each year, the Jefferson County Commission meets in early January to organize itself. The past few years have been contentious as the commissioners struggled to come to a consensus on leadership, committee assignments and priorities.
A different tone was on display at this year’s first meeting on January 2. The Commissioners gathered before the meeting for a group photo (right) and seemed genuinely excited to be working together for the next year. Pasha Majdi was the consensus to assume the role of Commission President and Mike Mood was elected as Vice President. The group quickly ran through the list of appointments to the 21 boards and commissions that include a representative from the Commission.
The next order of business was a discussion of the budget, led by David Bound, the County’s new CFO. This was the first time in four years that the Commission has had a permanent CFO/Budget Director in place at the start of the budget process. Bound walked the commissioners through the preliminary outline of the 2025-2026 (FY26) budget which included a projection of revenue growth and a recommendation to budget for both merit and cost of living increases for all employees. The commissioners unanimously approved the “budget charge” which allows the CFO to work with the various county department heads to develop a detailed line-item budget that will be presented, discussed, and debated at the County Commission later this spring.
Later in the month, the commissioners had a workshop session to discuss priorities for the Commission, with a narrowed-down list that was approved at the Commission’s February 6 meeting. Highlights include developing a balanced budget, completing the acquisition of the new county headquarters building on North Lawrence Street by May, then managing the reloocation of almost all of the county employees to the new facility, conducting a study on the county’s fire service needs, and redesigning the county website.
Photo: The current Jefferson County Commission (from left to right): Steve Stolipher, Pasha Majdi, Cara Keys, Mike Mood, Jack Hefestay. Cara Keys, Jack Hefestay and Mike Mood are new to the Commission. Pasha Majdi has been serving since December 2023, but won election last November to fill the remainder of a term. Steve Stolipher has been serving since 2021.
By Steve Pearson