Dunn County neighbors budget request approved; committee accepts financial reports

The Dunn County Neighbors Standing Committee approved the facility’s fiscal year 2026 budget request and accepted the financial reports for the month after a presentation from staff.

Carmen, the facility presenter, described a budget built on building-level projections and a case-mix revenue model that assumes Medicaid will remain the primary payer (roughly 70% of revenue). She said Medicaid’s final rates have not been issued and staff used current rates for the estimate; the state typically finalizes rates in October or November and applies them retroactively to July 1.

Carmen said the campus projection shows a combined surplus of $3,038,850 before final rate adjustments, broken down as $736,414 for the West building, $1,341,628 for the East building and $960,808 for the Central building. She cautioned that depreciation and final Medicaid rates could change the final figures.

After questions from supervisors, a motion to approve the fiscal year 26 budget request was moved by Supervisor Barbara Lyon and seconded by Supervisor Laufer. The chair called for the vote; the motion passed and the committee recorded the item as approved. Later in the meeting the committee also moved to accept the monthly financial reports; that motion was seconded by Supervisor Story and the committee recorded the reports as accepted.

Staff also highlighted operational factors that affect the budget, including agency staffing costs, projected inflation for food, and uncertainty in final Medicaid rates. Carmen told the committee that Medicaid rates were “not looking like there’s gonna be a decrease” but staff could not predict the size of any increase.

The committee scheduled no further budget changes at the meeting; staff will update the budget after state rate finalization and return with revised numbers if needed.