Woodbury County supervisors confront $2.6 million shortfall; agree to keep several improvement requests in budget

The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors reviewed a projected Fiscal Year 2026 shortfall and voted to keep several department improvement requests in the draft budget while looking for offsets to avoid cuts to core services.

County Auditor Michelle Scaff told the board that “after removing all of the improvement requests, last week, our fund 1 deficit is $1,820,434,” and that the county’s total shortfall across several funds was about $2,641,865. Scaff said officials had identified about $104,000 that could be removed from basic funds and that the county had published maximum levy figures the public has begun receiving.

The discussion focused on whether to fund personnel requests that departments said were needed to preserve services. Supervisors approved several items individually, including the treasurer’s seven improvement requests and a communications-center training position that county leaders said is critical to 911/dispatch operations.

Why it matters: The board signaled a preference to avoid deauthorizing positions where possible and instead to seek temporary offsets — including unspent fiscal‑year 2025 funds, a possible hiring freeze on selected vacancies and a potential one‑time transfer — to reduce the structural deficit. Supervisors emphasized the consequences for rural services and public safety if revenue or reserves fall further.

Most important facts - Auditor Michelle Scaff presented fund-by-fund shortfalls: a Fund 1 deficit of $1,820,434; a general supplemental deficit of $727,630; and a rural basic shortfall of $93,801. Scaff described the combined figure as about $2,641,865 (expenses vs. revenues for FY26, not counting beginning balances). - The board was told there is a potential of up to roughly $500,000 in unspent FY25 funds that could be used to bolster reserves; county staff will verify how much of that is realistic. - Supervisors kept a proposed E‑911 training position in the draft budget (county share under roughly $30,000, per discussion) and approved seven treasurer improvement requests that officials said would be covered by projected fee increases in the treasurer’s office. - The board discussed, but did not adopt at this meeting, possible increases to the county levy to close deficits. Scaff said the published “maximum levy” figures with the improvement requests included would have resulted in levies shown to taxpayers; those figures will be adjusted as items are removed.

What the board voted on (selected motions) - Approved the treasurer’s seven improvement requests (motion by Supervisor Bittinger; second by Vice Chairman Nelson). Vote: 5–0. - Approved retaining an E‑911 communications training position in the budget (kept in projections; motion to retain carried as part of budget actions). Vote: recorded as unanimous for putting it back in the draft projections. - The board agreed to pursue verification of up to $500,000 in unspent FY25 funds and asked staff to return with firm numbers next week.

Details and department presentations Michelle Scaff, Woodbury County Auditor, walked the board through the numbers and explained that published maximum levy notices had been mailed with improvement requests included. Scaff said the maximum levy with improvement requests shown to taxpayers would be about 7.38931 for urban residents and 9.8824 for rural residents (figures are for the county portion shown on mailed notices and will be updated as the board alters the budget).

Tina (County Treasurer) explained that legislative fee increases, effective Jan. 1, 2025, have generated additional projected revenue for FY26 and said that the office expects to recover the cost of clerical upgrades through increased fee activity. Treasurer staff estimated that, with controlled printing volumes, the annual cost under the recommended copier/printer contract would be roughly $3,235 compared with higher alternatives.

Wendy, Communications Center Director, described staffing and training stress at the dispatch center and urged the board to keep the proposed training position. “It’s been a long ride,” Wendy said, adding later, “We tell people how to do CPR. We tell people how to administer Narcan on overdoses.” She and other department representatives explained turnover trends and the training burden for existing staff.

Sheriff’s office representatives (including Chad and Captain Peterson) said four requested correctional officer positions would be used as federal transport officers if approved; they noted current vacancies and said they would reassign staff if positions were not funded. The sheriff’s office acknowledged it could delay hires but warned of impacts on other services.

Board direction and next steps Board members asked staff to return next week with firm figures on the following items: the exact amount of unspent FY25 dollars available to transfer, the financial impact of selectively freezing certain open positions, and levy‑increase scenarios (including the effect on a hypothetical taxpayer assessed at a representative value). The board agreed to consider a targeted hiring freeze (defunding positions temporarily but not deauthorizing them) in order to preserve services while avoiding immediate layoffs.

Ending Supervisors emphasized that decisions do not reflect a judgment of employees’ merit but rather the constraints of revenue and state policy changes affecting county budgets. The board scheduled follow‑up budget work for the next meeting and asked staff to prepare clear public communications about levy and budget options.