Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
La Paz County posts $5.9M general fund balance at midyear; board told of reserves, transfers and recommended PSPRS payment
Summary
Finance staff reported a $5.9 million general fund balance as of Dec. 31, 2024, with an additional $3.9 million reserve; staff outlined midyear revenue and expenditure performance, enterprise fund positions and a continued cleanup of legacy negative fund balances and recommended an agenda item to prepay $1 million toward the PSPRS liability.
La Paz County finance staff told the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 18, 2025, that the county’s general fund had an ending balance of about $5.9 million at midyear (Dec. 31, 2024) and that the board’s previously approved reserve stands at $3.9 million.
Karen Ziegler, the county’s financial consultant, and interim administrative services director Megan Spielman reviewed midyear totals. Ziegler reported roughly $9.0 million in revenue and just under $9.0 million in expenditures through Dec. 31, producing the $5.9 million ending balance. The FY25 general fund budget totals roughly $20 million in revenue and just over $21 million in expenditures, Ziegler said. She noted property tax receipts were on target and sales tax receipts were tracking below target on a seasonal pattern. Intergovernmental receipts remain low year‑to‑date because large payments such as PILT (payment in lieu of taxes, roughly $2.0 million) and an Arizona Department of Administration payment (about $550,000) typically arrive later in the fiscal year.
On expenditures, Ziegler said departments are at about 40–41% of budget with some vacancy savings contributing to the favorable position. She recommended the county prepare an agenda item to make a $1 million prepayment to the PSPRS pension system to reduce future employer rate pressure; staff said earlier payments reduce future ERE liabilities.
Enterprise funds and other highlights:
- Public works: beginning balance about $10 million, roughly $3.4 million in revenues year‑to‑date and $1.7 million in expenditures; an $11 million approximate ending balance is expected to decrease as capital projects are billed in the second half of the year.
- Parks and golf operations: parks began the year at about $195,000 and had brought in about $471,000 to date; golf began with about $557,000 and had brought in $484,000 to date. Seasonal timing and reconciliation of credit card receipts account for some apparent shortfalls.
- Landfill: the landfill began FY25 with about $3.6 million after a large upfront deposit tied to contract renegotiation. The FY25 budget includes $2.1 million in transfers out from the landfill fund — about $1.5 million to general fund operations and roughly $650,000 to the general fund reserve — and staff said the transfers have not yet been processed.
- Solar project fund: began with roughly $325,000 and had about $830,000 in receipts year‑to‑date; several lease deposits were received in January and will be reflected in the next quarterly report. An operating transfer out of $1.75 million to the general fund is budgeted but not yet completed.
- Jail district: began the year with a negative balance (about $996,000). Year‑to‑date revenues of about $1.5 million and expenditures of about $1.8 million leave the fund showing a negative balance currently; however, planned operating transfers into the district (about $1.269 million) have not yet been processed and would largely offset the negative balance. Staff said a federal inmate contract is expected to increase revenue in coming months.
Ziegler also described a multi‑year effort to clean up legacy negative fund balances. The county used $472,400 of LATCF (local assistance funding noted in the meeting) to clear 21 old funds and the board approved an additional allocation in FY25 (described in the packet as an additional roughly $472,000 plus interest for a total of $573,500) to address more legacy negative balances. Ziegler said some reimbursement funds inherently show temporary negative balances pending grant reimbursements and that staff is reconciling those accounts as part of the cleanup.
Board members praised the progress. One supervisor said, “hallelujah,” when staff described the elimination of longstanding negative balances, and multiple supervisors noted that the county is in a stronger fiscal position than some neighboring jurisdictions entering the FY26 budget process. Ziegler and Spielman said they will bring options to the board on use of one‑time landfill and solar receipts during the FY26 budget process and will present the PSPRS payment proposal as a future agenda item.
The presentation closed with staff saying they will continue to monitor revenues and expenditures, complete utility and telecom account reconciliations, and advance the negative‑balance cleanup work into FY26.
