07-26-2023 Budget Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes—July 26, 2023 5747 SPECIAL MEETING OF CASS COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING IN BUDGET SESSION JULY 26, 2023 1. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Chairman Chad M. Peterson called the special meeting to order at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, July 26, 2024, with all members present as follows: Tony Grindberg, Duane Breitling, Jim Kapitan, Mary Scherling, and Chad M. Peterson. Also present was County Finance Director, Brandy Madrigga; County Administrator, Robert Wilson; Human Resource Director/Assistant County Administrator, Tracy Peters; Accounting Manager, Sarah Heinle; and Accountant Gerald Jenson. 2. BUDGET OVERVIEW Ms. Madrigga provided an overview of the 2024 preliminary budget. Once the preliminary budget is approved, it will be posted on the County website, and a hearing date for the final budget approval will be set for Monday, September 18, 2024 and noticed in the County's official newspaper, the Fargo Forum. Additional notices will be sent to taxpayers and entities listing the public hearing dates and times for local jurisdictions. Ms. Madrigga said the 2024 value of a mill is $1.26 million, up 12% from 2023. She said the preliminary budget includes a 1 mill reduction for the County's general fund as a result of increasing property value. She said the 2024 general fund revenue is projected to be at $48,640,192 with expenditures of $53,014,337. She said this would create an overall decrease to the General Fund balance of $4.4 million which would place the General Fund balance at $12,543,897 or 23.66% of expenditures, which is within the County's minimum range policy of 17% to 25%. Mr. Peterson asked why the interest revenues projected for 2024 are so low when interest rates are 5% and above. Ms. Madrigga said the interest revenues are unpredictable as they change with market interest rate changes. She said the interest revenues for 2024 were calculated based on actual interest earnings from January to April of 2023. She said currently most County funds are in accounts with approximately 4.5% interest. Mr. Peterson said the County should have funds in accounts with high interest rates to capitalize on interest revenues. Ms. Madrigga said the 2024 preliminary budget includes a 5.1% cost of living adjustment (COLA). She said the effective cost of a 1% COLA increase is equivalent to $290,700. She said 9 new employee requests are included in the preliminary budget request; 3.00 FTE for the Highway Department, 2.0 FTE for the Finance Office, 1.0 FTE each for Buildings and Grounds, State's Attorney's Office, Sheriff's Office, and Vector Control. She said the County is waiting for information regarding health and dental insurance rates. She said the preliminary budget includes a 12% increase in medical insurance rates and no change to dental rates. Ms. Madrigga said the 2024 Building Fund budget includes $5 million for the Red River Regional Dispatch Center, $1.5 million for an election building, $100,000 to relocate the Information Technology Office, and $400,000 for a new courtroom. She said funds in the CARES, ARPA, and LATCF Fund are budgeted in 2024 to be spent on the Jail Expansion project. She said per the County's Home Rule Charter, the total County mill levy can not exceed 75 mills. She said the 2024 budget as presented includes 53.55 mills, down from 54.55 in 2023. Mr. Wilson provided a summary of three upward pressures affecting the 2024 budget regarding employee salaries: the COLA, a salary survey, and a study to reduce the number of steps in the County's pay matrix. He said over the past 18 years, the County has generally utilized the process of using the April to April Consumer Price Index (CPI) figure to determine the COLA. He said Department Heads review the CPI at the May Department Head meeting and make a recommendation to the Commission at Commission meeting in June. He said of the 18 years, there were 14 years where the CPI was adopted as the COLA, two years where the CPI was negative and