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Legislature postpones, then approves $1.49M DSS year-end budget transfer after reserve review
Summary
A proposed year-end transfer of $1,490,000 to cover Department of Social Services overages was postponed after counsel raised concerns about the tax stabilization reserve; the legislature later amended the resolution to draw from fund balance and approved it 12–1.
The legislature considered resolution M (DSS year-end budget adjustment) on June 3 after staff said the Department of Social Services exceeded budget allocations in 2024 because of higher childcare and Medicaid-share costs.
Laurie (Department of Finance staff) explained county staff had expected some Medicaid weekly-share increases and initially planned to use a mandated contingency fund the county had reserved years earlier, but that the shortfall was large and deserved legislative attention. Legislators asked whether the funds were the county’s tax stabilization reserve.
County Attorney Maury Josephson advised the body that funds in the tax stabilization reserve could not be expended until corrective action was taken to fix how the fund had been established. Josephson said dissolving or reclassifying the reserve could be done but would require a legal corrective process and time to complete.
After discussion, the legislature postponed the vote earlier in the meeting to allow for an executive-session review. Later in the meeting County Attorney Josephson reported he had reviewed options and said the corrective process could allow an orderly winding down of the tax stabilization reserve so funds would ultimately be available.
Legislator Greg Mezey moved an amendment to the scheduled appropriation to have the $1,490,000 come from fund balance rather than the tax stabilization reserve; Randy Brown seconded the amendment. The amended motion passed on a roll-call vote, 12–1.
Why it matters: The transfer would remediate a 2024 budget overrun in DSS identified in the audit; the debate exposed procedural and statutory constraints on withdrawing money from the tax stabilization reserve and the need to follow corrective administrative steps before using those reserve funds.
What’s next: County Attorney Josephson said he will complete the corrective material and documentation for the reserve and expects the corrective action to be completed in the coming months; finance staff noted the county’s annual financial report to the state was already overdue and the transfer was needed to clear audit findings.
Ending: The legislature approved the amended transfer; Josephson and finance staff will complete the reserve-correction paperwork and report back to the legislature.
