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County treasurer and administration report steady finances; sales tax up and ARPA still funds several projects
Summary
Boone County’s treasurer and administration staff reported a modest cash decline tied to capital projects and said sales tax collections have risen roughly 10% year over year after a change to state use-tax remittance rules. The county’s ARPA balance remains about $5.3 million plus accrued interest.
Boone County’s treasurer and administration staff gave monthly financial updates to the Committee of the Whole, reporting that a cash decline mainly reflected ongoing capital projects, while sales tax revenue is running higher than a year ago.
Kurt, the county treasurer, told the committee the county’s total cash was down by about $1.1 million. He attributed roughly $230,000 of that to the capital projects fund and about $350,000 to ARPA-funded spending tied to building work. Kurt described investment conditions and said the county’s liquid accounts were earning roughly 4.3% while certificates of deposit were yielding approximately 3.8%; he said the county would likely increase liquidity and rely on high-yield money market accounts rather than buy new CDs when property tax receipts arrive in late May and June.
Kurt also said the county’s annual financial audit has taken longer than usual; auditors filed an extension for the annual financial report but staff expected the audit to be completed soon. He thanked Deputy County Clerk Carrie Ann Anderson and a vendor, Steve Connell from DevNet, for quickly completing a property tax extension and said tax bills were mailed a week before the meeting with expected distributions in late May and early June.
Becky, who presents the administration monthly report, told the committee that sales tax collections were up about 10% over last year. She attributed at least some of the increase to a state law change that shifted certain use-tax remittances into sales tax beginning in 2025, which will show as lower use tax and higher sales tax receipts. Becky reported the county’s ARPA balance at roughly $5.3 million plus about $650,000 in interest and said current ARPA spending is focused on the McKinley construction project and the courthouse project. She said project-cost tracking is being built into the county’s Tyler system and that the county has spent about $2,155,000 to date on construction projects including owner’s representative and rental costs.
Committee members asked about the auditor and the treasurer said the county was working with Sikich and that Lindsay Fish, the audit principal, had prior experience with the county’s audits.
