Adams County committee reviews 2026 Health and Human Services budget, fund balance and building needs

The Adams County Health and Human Services Committee reviewed the department’s proposed 2026 operating budget and discussed options for formalizing a minimum fund balance and funding repairs or a replacement for the department’s building.

Committee members heard a presentation on the budget assumptions and program adjustments before raising questions about multi-year underspending, the department’s fund balance and building maintenance needs.

The department’s 2026 ask includes a 2.4% cost-of-living adjustment, steps increases for staff and an assumed 9% health insurance premium increase. Staff told the committee some fee changes are proposed elsewhere in the packet (see related article). The budget presentation said indirect costs are allocated using a third-party indirect-cost plan and that staff time is allocated to programs based on time-tracking averages.

Why it matters: Committee members said recurring underspending in Health and Human Services affects levy-setting and argued the committee should consider a clear policy for how much of the department’s reserves should be held for emergencies and how excess reserves could be used for capital or debt service.

Key details from the presentation and committee discussion: the budget includes an increase in vehicle maintenance and fuel lines (+$3,000) offset by a $3,500 reduction in mileage; an added $10,000 for increased driver time for transportation demand; a $70,000 reduction in residential and voluntary placement lines based on a five-year average; a proposed $88,000 reduction in out-of-home care lines based on historical data; and a $15,000 increase in purchase-of-service funds intended to keep children in their homes in line with the federal child-welfare focus staff cited.

Staff warned the committee the county could face an unknown state-level change affecting SNAP (food share) funding; one scenario discussed was a potential cut to county funding of roughly $135,000 but staff said the state had not yet decided how to allocate any new responsibilities.

Practical Sense: The department asked for one fully revenue-funded case manager position to be stationed at Practical Sense (no tax-levy increase) and added a roof repair to the capital-improvement list. Staff also requested $5,000 for a hitch trailer (the prior box truck was retired). Committee members discussed whether an enclosed trailer or a box truck would be appropriate and whether the purchase could be accelerated before the fiscal year closes if funds are available.

Fund balance and building: County fiscal staff reported the health and human services fund balance for 2024 at roughly $4.4 million against an operating budget of about $13.37 million, roughly a 33% reserve. Several committee members proposed drafting a policy that would set a minimum reserve target (they discussed a 30% target used elsewhere in county budgets) and a rule to convert any excess reserves to capital funding or early debt retirement. Committee members asked staff to return with options for a formal fiscal policy.

Members also discussed the condition of the current Health and Human Services building. Committee members and staff agreed the building requires continued maintenance; several members asked county facilities staff to commission outside architects/engineers to provide an independent assessment because past internal reviews had suggested the structure contains many additions and may not be cost-effective to restore. One board member estimated a possible new-building cost in later planning discussions of roughly $20 million and, as an example, county fiscal staff said a $20 million debt issue repaid at $1 million per year over 20 years would add about $0.21 in mill rate on a $100,000 home (about $21 annually) under the simplified example used during the meeting.

Next steps: Staff will bring back more detailed indirect-cost adjustments after receiving the new Maximus indirect-cost plan, provide updated 2024/2025 fiscal close numbers when available, and prepare options for a formal fund-balance policy and for a facilities assessment to inform long-range capital planning.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this report were identified in the meeting transcript as staff or committee members; specific full titles were not always provided in the transcript and are shown below in the speakers list without invented titles.