Finance committee forwards $2.35 million fund-balance designation to full board

The Sawyer County Finance Committee voted Wednesday to send a resolution to the full County Board that would designate roughly $2,350,000 of the 2024 general-fund surplus for specific assignments and transfers, including a proposed $1,300,000 transfer to Health & Human Services (HHS) and $85,000 for a temporary bridge project.

The committee chair entertained a motion to bring the resolution forward; Jeff Haney moved to advance the resolution and Mark Helwig seconded. After brief procedural remarks the committee approved sending the resolution to the full board. Finance staff summarized the proposed designations and transfers and told the committee the package “comes out to a total of about 2,350,000.00,” leaving “almost a hundred thousand” remaining in the general-fund surplus.

The resolution would (as described to the committee) 1) designate sales-tax surplus as unassigned fund balance, 2) assign ambulance profit to an assigned fund balance to offset future levies, and 3) transfer funds to other county funds: a highway-related transfer to cover depreciation and a negative unassigned balance, a $1,300,000 transfer to HHS to reduce pressure on the HHS fund balance, and an $85,000 transfer to Resource Development to cover a temporary bridge the county agreed to fund. Committee materials and the presenter described the highway transfer as intended to cover about $450,000 of depreciation and to eliminate an approximately $300,000 negative unassigned balance in the highway fund. The presenter characterized the recommended package as a mix of assignments and transfers intended to maintain the county’s general fund “equal to or above our 25 to 30% level.”

Finance staff told the committee that final close-out activity could slightly change the numbers. The presenter said the 2024 general-fund surplus arose after stronger-than-budget revenues — including stumpage, investment interest and unanticipated tribal-land payments — and lower-than-budget expenses in several departments. The treasurer had earlier reported that the county received $7,317,005.69 in settlements to remit to tax jurisdictions.

Committee members did not debate the details at length before the motion to send the resolution to the full board. The committee’s approval means the resolution will appear on a future County Board agenda for final action.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve meeting agenda: motion carried (motion by Helwig, second by Duffy). - Motion to approve minutes of Feb. 13: motion carried (motion by Helwig, second by Duffy). - Motion to bring the fund-balance designation resolution to the full board: motion carried (motion by Jeff Haney, second by Mark Helwig). The committee chair announced “the ayes have it.”

The committee’s recommendation does not itself effect transfers; final transfers require County Board approval and accounting close-out. Finance staff said some year-end transactions remain to be finalized and that the full board will see the formal resolution with the exact appropriation language when it is posted to the board agenda.