Page County supervisors publish proposed 2025 budget after hourslong review of raises, sheriff's requests and ARPA spending

The Page County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to publish the county's proposed fiscal 2025 budget and set a public hearing for April 22 after an extended, department-by-department review.

Board members fronted questions about employee raises, how salaries are split across multiple funds, the sheriff's staffing and jail costs, and the disposition of remaining ARPA funds. The board approved publication by voice vote.

The vote followed more than two hours of discussion in which county staff and elected officials walked supervisors through spreadsheets and fund summaries. "The purpose of this meeting is to have budget discussion, so we will move ahead with that at this point," a board member said at the outset. County staff referenced property-tax projections, miscellaneous receipts and capital-project receipts tied to recent bond proceeds while answering questions from supervisors about how line items were allocated.

Board members scrutinized proposed pay changes: the countywide recommended baseline raise was 3.75 percent, but several positions were listed at different rates. Supervisors discussed making the auditor, treasurer and recorder salaries equal after the treasurer and recorder requested parity with the auditor; the board confirmed those three positions were aligned for FY2025. The board also reviewed the split of deputy salaries across motor-vehicle, driver's-license and tax accounts and heard how treasurer staff set those percentages to make unit-cost accounting possible.

Sheriff's office budgets drew sustained scrutiny. The sheriff's budget includes targeted raises for deputies (including a 12 percent increase for a long-tenured deputy who had fallen behind peers), a proposed night sergeant position and planned increases for jailers and reserves. County staff said deputies' starting wages were being adjusted to improve recruitment (examples given included certified hires at about $57,000 and uncertified at $55,000) and that shift differentials, longevity pay and training costs affect payroll modeling. The board discussed one-time training and transport reimbursements, jail medical and hospital line items (a $10,000 doctor/dentist and $25,000 hospital line were noted), and the operational cost pressures caused by chronic vacancies and overtime.

Board members also discussed a range of nonpay items in departmental budgets: a conservation pickup and equipment request, the county farm lease and whether to rebid at three- or five-year terms, community-betterment transfers from local-option sales tax to local towns and organizations, and capital-projects receipts tied to a recent bond (discussed as roughly "16.07" in staff materials). Staff said miscellaneous receipts include delinquent taxes, penalties and interest, intergovernmental receipts and occasional large bond proceeds; last year's miscellaneous receipts included bond proceeds of roughly $16 million to $20 million in capital projects.

Staff told supervisors that the county will reestimate revenues and may move a budget amendment later in the fiscal year for items such as vehicle insurance claims, unbudgeted grant receipts and anticipated law-enforcement revenue; staff said some additional revenue (insurance checks, vehicle sales and grants) could cover higher-than-expected sheriff's costs. The board directed staff to prepare the published proposed budget and the April 22 hearing notice for the paper.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to publish the proposed FY2025 budget and set the public hearing for April 22: moved and seconded (names not specified in the record); outcome: approved by voice vote. - Motion to approve the meeting agenda at the start of the session: moved and seconded (names not specified); outcome: approved by voice vote. - Motion to adjourn: moved and seconded (names not specified); outcome: approved by voice vote.

The board will consider public comment and any formal amendments at the budget hearing on April 22, when the proposed figures will be presented for public record and staff will supply final reestimated totals as required by Iowa Department of Management filing schedules.