At a Sawyer County Finance Committee meeting, finance staff reported that county revenues and expenses are roughly a third of the way through the annual budget and broadly “in good shape,” while identifying several planned accounting moves and program pressures that officials will monitor.

The update matters because the committee is preparing budget parameters and a timeline for department submissions that will shape levy and service decisions for the coming year. Finance staff said they will ask the committee in June to approve the calendar and parameters that will be sent to department heads.

Finance staff reported that overall county expenses are close to a 33 percent run rate through April and that the office has begun booking certain transfers monthly to show a truer picture of department balances. The office is booking a planned transfer of $169,000 to the highway fund now, with a corresponding revenue entry recorded in the highway budget.

County staff also described routine timing differences in Highway accounting, where Highway records in KEMS and then posts to New World the following month, creating a lag that makes Highway appear under 33 percent on a month-by-month snapshot. Staff said Highway expenses remain under budget and that summer construction had not yet started at the time of the report.

On Health and Human Services, finance staff said the department built its fund balance in recent years through county action and operational surpluses. The transcript shows finance staff saying the county placed $1,300,000 from the general fund into HHS in 2021 and that by 2024 the HHS fund balance had grown to about $2,100,000. Staff said HHS plans a budgeted draw from that fund balance and that finance has begun recording the draw monthly so reported revenues more closely match expected cash flows. The office also reported rising youth-justice placement costs, which staff described as a principal driver of recent HHS pressure: “We’ve gone from . . . $100-130,000 a year to over a million now in youth justice,” the presenter said.

Staff requested that the committee approve a detailed budget timeline at its June meeting; the schedule includes a staff deadline for proposed additions by June 30 and departmental budget and CIP submissions by July 31. Finance staff said they will include updated salary and benefits assumptions when they issue instructions to departments, and they proposed a 5 percent assumption for health-insurance renewals based on current renewal information.

The committee also reviewed the monthly capital-improvement report. Active items include a Huber roof and HVAC/air-handler work for the sheriff’s office and vehicle build-outs and purchases for enforcement functions; staff said some sheriff department work will be paid from department-controlled funds rather than solely from CIP.

Committee members asked clarifying questions; no formal budget parameters were adopted at the meeting. The finance office said it will return in June with a formal request to adopt the timeline and parameters for distribution to department heads.