Davenport warns Madison County fund balance is shrinking, lays out $12M borrowing option to protect reserves

Davenport financial advisers told the Madison County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that the county's fund balance is trending downward and presented two borrowing scenarios to fund next-year capital needs.

The presentation, delivered by Kyle Locks of Davenport, framed the immediate issue as protecting the county's fund balance while moving forward on roughly $11.9 million of identified capital needs in fiscal 2026–2027. "Fund balance is arguably the most important financial measure that we look at," Locks said during the briefing, adding that current trends show a decline in fundamentals.

Davenport showed a five-year capital plan that totaled roughly $22.5 million across county and school projects, with about $12 million concentrated in the two-year window the firm described as critical for budgeting. Its two scenarios were: borrow for the full basket of projects (about $11.9 million) or borrow only for vehicles and equipment (about $5.5 million). Using conservative assumptions — a notional 5% interim interest rate in the firm's model and a later…