Commissioners warn using reserves for schools could strain disaster readiness
Mitchell County leaders said adopting recurring school expenses will reduce the fund balance and could limit the county's ability to respond to future emergencies, citing wildfire risk and ongoing debris-removal bills. Staff estimated reimbursements and monthly liabilities that could substantially reduce reserves over the next months.
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County officials told commissioners the county's cash reserves are already being drawn down by storm-related advance payments and that adding recurring school costs will further reduce the safety net used for emergency response. “If we would not have had that, we would have been laying off and we would have been uh having to streamline a lot of operations,” the county manager said, underlining the role of prior reserves in recovery efforts.
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