Bourbon County staff brief commissioners on revenues, fund structure and budget risks

Speaker 1, a county staff member, led a financial briefing at a Bourbon County Commission work session, telling commissioners the county’s overall revenues have edged up for 2025 but that several individual funds and debt obligations require close monitoring. "Revenues. Are they up? Are they down? If they're down, you're gonna do less roads," Speaker 1 said.

The presentation opened with year-over-year comparisons. Speaker 1 said the county was down about $300,000 in the prior year but is "up $185,000 over the prior year" in the 2025 column. The staff member walked the commission through sales-tax-supported funds (hard-surface roads and road and bridge), jail-related sales tax and a new hospital sales tax fund. "Sales tax is actually looking really good in the second month," Speaker 1 said.

Why it matters: the briefing underscored how volatile individual revenue sources—landfill receipts, jail housing revenue, chemical and culvert sales and EMS collections—affect department budgets and may force midyear amendments. Speaker 1 noted the landfill saw a sharp jump in 2023 when a large business began using the county facility, and cautioned that increased landfill income often carries offsetting transfer costs (Allen County transfer costs were cited).

Key revenue and risk details explained in the session:

- EMS revenue: Speaker 1 warned the county should watch EMS collections closely. "If we start having a dip below 800,000, we're in trouble," the staff member said, noting a prior year when EMS receipts fell to about $700,000 and prompted concern about covering costs or raising taxes. The county has pursued the state setoff program to collect outstanding receivables; Speaker 1 said at one point the county had about $350,000 in outstanding receivables.

- Jail and corrections receipts: Speaker 1 said jail revenue has fluctuated, including a notable increase when the county received payments for housing prisoners from Wyandotte County.

- One-time and fee revenue: sales such as culvert and chemical sales were shown historically at about $15,000–$20,000 annually; steep declines in those lines could indicate issues that need investigation.

Staff also reviewed fund classifications and statutory limits. The presenter highlighted funds the commission directly sets (shown in orange on the packet) and distinguished those that must be budgeted (blue) from nongovernmental agency or trust funds. "You can't look at this bottom line and say we have $8,900,000 because you don't have $8,900,000," Speaker 1 told commissioners, explaining that many funds are restricted for specific statutory purposes.

Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) complication: Speaker 1 said the county has not been consistently moving the 5% administrative fee out of the NRP fund into the appraiser's fund and described a new spreadsheet to calculate proper rebates and the 5% administrative amount. "Starting this year, we will start moving those dollars out," Speaker 1 said.

Statutory framework and process reminders: Speaker 1 distributed citations and guidance on the county’s legal duties for budgeting, including a cash-basis law overview: "you can't spend what you don't have." The clerk/treasurer roles were summarized: the treasurer produces motor vehicle estimates for taxing entities, the clerk compiles assessed valuations for use in mill levy calculations, and the clerk must attest and submit budgets to the state. The staff member also urged commissioners to attend Department of Administration budget workshops for updates and training.

Assessed valuation and mill levy context: staff presented a 2010–2024 assessed-valuation history for Bourbon County and estimated that one mill in 2024 produced about $133,307 countywide. Using that figure, staff noted the county’s total levy (about 59.848 mills in the packet) produces the property-tax totals shown and that increases in assessed valuation—not always commission action—often drive higher collections even if the levy is held flat.

Capital planning, equipment and reserves: staff recommended stronger equipment-reserve practices and consolidated funds for cash-flow ease. Speaker 1 suggested consolidating smaller road-related funds into a single Road & Bridge fund and recommended the commission consider moving mental-health and mental-disability levies into the general fund to simplify budget management. The staff member urged a five-year capital plan and better tracking of capital outlays and encumbrances (purchase orders) to avoid year-end budget violations.

Debt and major obligations: staff reviewed debt balances and schedules. As of January 1, 2024, staff reported outstanding jail debt of about $5.1 million, landfill building debt around $101,000 and sewer debt about $625,000. Lease-purchase obligations (jail pods) showed a principal balance around $1.4 million. The staff member said the jail sales-tax stream will continue until the debt is paid and that commissioners should watch the jail debt-service schedule through 2039.

FEMA reimbursements and hospital sales tax: commissioners asked about FEMA reimbursement timing; staff reported FEMA was reviewing submitted claims line-by-line and estimated a possible funding timeline of summer months (June–August) before significant payments arrive. On the hospital sales tax, Speaker 1 said the county is holding December–February receipts in a fund pending two outstanding agreements and requested expenditure detail from the hospital operator before releasing funds.

Next steps and scheduling: commissioners and staff agreed to begin departmental budget presentations and to prioritize the county's three largest budget areas—sheriff, public works (road and bridge) and EMS—for standalone sessions. Speaker 1 said she will provide audits, detailed ledgers and a bank securities (pledged collateral) report at the next packet and will email model procurement and fund-reserve policies (citing Riley County examples) for commissioners to review. An April 7 meeting with the road superintendent (Rhodes) was confirmed to discuss hard-surface road plans.

No formal votes were taken during the work session; the meeting functioned as a briefing and scheduling discussion to prepare for the formal 2025 budget process.