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Commissioners scrutinize draft county budget, question cash-reserve math and ambulance sales tax totals
Summary
County commissioners at a budget work session pressed staff on apparent duplicate carryforwards, differing cash-reserve figures and how ambulance sales-tax receipts were shown in the draft budget; they scheduled a follow-up work session to reconcile numbers before the revenue-neutral (RNI) hearing.
County commissioners met at the New York County Courthouse for a budget work session to review Draft 4 of the proposed 2026 budget and raised questions about how cash reserves, ad valorem projections and ambulance sales-tax proceeds were displayed in the worksheet.
The most immediate concern centered on two carryforward/cash-reserve lines that commissioners said looked duplicative. “It looks like to me it's in there twice,” a commissioner said, noting an unencumbered cash balance of roughly $2 million and a separate cash reserve of about $1.7 million. Commissioners asked staff to reconcile how the draft moved the county from a reported deficit in 2024 to the higher carryforward shown in Draft 4.
Why it matters: commissioners said they want accurate starting balances before finalizing tax rates and before implementing the wage-study increases included in the draft. One commissioner called for another work session so auditors can confirm the numbers before the revenue-neutral hearing.
On ambulance sales tax, members questioned a figure shown in one staff worksheet. “I don't understand where he came up with the 5.4,” a commissioner said, contrasting that with prior practice of budgeting roughly $2,000,000 a year for ambulance payments. Commissioners asked staff to verify year-to-date collections and whether the worksheet incorrectly accumulated multiple years of receipts.
The draft also reflects planned reductions in some program allocations, including a $100,000 cut to courthouse general and a decrease to the Southeast Kansas Mental Health line. Commissioners discussed the potential payoff of a HVAC lease as a way to reduce long-term debt. One commissioner said paying off the lease would reduce debt by roughly $200,000 and urged staff to check for any prepayment penalty with the bank.
Discussion versus direction: commissioners repeatedly emphasized that outstanding questions about carryforwards, transfers and special funds must be resolved before the next formal hearing. Staff agreed to recheck the figures, verify the ambulance-sales balances, and confirm how prior-year trial-balance figures were carried forward into Draft 4.
Process and next steps: commissioners set a follow-up work session two weeks later and directed staff to share department-level numbers so department heads can review the draft allocations and the wage-study impacts. During the session a commissioner moved to schedule the additional work session, the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote: “All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Cindy.”
Less urgent items noted during the meeting included discussions of equipment reserves, grader lease payments and how new road-project sales-tax receipts should be projected for 2026.
