Treasurer warns reserves falling, urges budget planning as committee confronts multi‑million shortfall

The county treasurer warned the Finance and Audit Committee that the county’s investment reserves have fallen and said staff briefly needed to sell investments in May to cover payroll. The treasurer urged the board to factor reserve levels and uneven revenue timing into budget planning for the coming fiscal years.

Treasurer (Donna, first name used in the meeting) and finance staff told the committee the county’s general-fund investment balance has declined from earlier highs and that ARPA and uneven tax collection timing reduce cushion in early summer. The treasurer described an incident in May when staff sold investments to make payroll because anticipated tax revenues had not yet arrived.

Committee members discussed options: using one‑time revenue to cover immediate gaps, pursuing structural recurring cuts, and limiting automatic cost-of-living indexing in new salary proposals. Several members proposed a policy using vacancies selectively—filling only a portion of open positions—as a humane, phased approach to trimming payroll costs. Others urged caution because eliminating positions can shift workload and create downstream costs.

The treasurer outlined several operational priorities that can affect long-term savings and taxpayer convenience: expanding online payment options (including vendor tools and PayPal-style installment options), pursuing greater automation and AI where appropriate, and negotiating more favorable software and vendor agreements. Committee members asked staff to identify which budget items are one-time versus recurring and to provide a prioritized list of potential cuts and revenue options for the full county board.

Ending — The treasurer’s presentation and the committee’s broader budget review work will feed into upcoming county board budget decisions; members asked staff for a clearer list of recurring versus one-time options and for vendor cost and lease comparisons.