Supervisors adopt budget moves: $200,000 transfer, multiple hiring freezes and other adjustments for FY26

The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors reviewed the fiscal 2026 budget publication and approved multiple adjustments intended to shore up reserve balances across county funds.

Michelle (budget staff) presented the budget publication and an updated reserves‑vs‑expenses worksheet showing options to reach two months’ operating reserves. She explained proposed adjustments to levy calculations and noted changes since the previous meeting, including updated training revenue, recognition of unspent payroll in several departments, and a corrected room‑and‑board revenue calculation.

Actions taken by the board included: receipt of the budget publication; approval to transfer $200,000 from the Courthouse Maintenance Fund to General Supplemental reserves for FY26 (motion by Supervisor Aung, seconded by Supervisor Bittinger; passed 5‑0); approval to defund (but not deauthorize) 12 seasonal Conservation Department positions for FY26, producing projected savings of $105,099.42 (motion passed 5‑0); and approval to freeze an open maintenance position in Building Services pending further funding (motion passed 5‑0).

The board also moved several accounting adjustments discussed in staff scenarios: placing PILOT dollars into General Supplemental as shown in the budget scenarios and transferring 50% of the auditor’s wages from General Basic to General Supplemental (motions passed 5‑0). The board deferred a final decision on how much of benefits/FICA to shift between funds and asked staff for updated accrual and payroll figures prior to final adoption. The board set a schedule to consider the wage plan at the next meeting and to resolve elected‑official pay at the final adoption meeting.

Nut graf: Facing a multi‑million dollar shortfall to meet targeted reserve ratios, the board adopted a mix of fund transfers, hiring freezes and accounting moves to improve projected reserves while leaving open additional payroll reallocations until staff can confirm accruals and unspent payroll totals.

Supervisors discussed tradeoffs between preserving staff capacity and raising wages; one supervisor cautioned that incremental (six‑month) raises could create complexity, while another suggested phased increases could reduce short‑term budget pressure. The board also directed staff to pursue a budget amendment after adoption to move unspent hospitalization funds into the county’s self‑liability health fund to meet statutory requirements under Iowa Code section 509A (as referenced in the meeting).

Ending: Staff will confirm payroll accruals and unspent balances, report back with updated figures, and bring the wage plan back for board consideration at a subsequent meeting prior to the final budget adoption deadline.