Sawyer County finance staff report stronger revenues; board assigns dental reserve and approves minutes

County treasurer and finance staff on Thursday reported improved tax-collection activity, stronger-than-expected sales-tax receipts so far in 2025 and a series of budget transfers that have bolstered specific funds, and the Sawyer County Board approved two routine actions: minutes from the prior meeting and a resolution assigning a small dental fund balance.

Treasurer Brian (first name only in transcript) told the board the office completed write-offs of 17 tax parcels acquired in 2023 and that an initial list of 42 delinquent parcels slated for county acquisition this August has shrunk to about 31 as some property owners paid. He said lottery and gaming payments for disbursement arrived in March and that Sawyer County received just over $207,000 attributable to lottery credits that were disbursed to schools and towns. He also reported receiving payments for more than 800 parcels totaling $818,000 since the March 13 delinquent-tax mailings.

Finance Director Mike presented the county's budget metrics. He said March sales tax was above last year and that, while the model shows a range, staff expects sales-tax receipts to land between roughly $3.31 million and $3.40 million for the year. He summarized that the county had completed several fund-balance transfers earlier in the year to strengthen Health & Human Services and Highway funds and that the county remains roughly 1% over on both revenues and expenses year to date due to timing and partner organization payments.

Ambulance and EMS: Mike and county staff reviewed ambulance finances and collections through March 2025. The ambulance enterprise is meeting billed-fee targets, which Mike highlighted: "ambulance fees, we are hitting the target," he said. The county reported gross ambulance charges of over $3 million for a recent 12-month period, with negotiated adjustments leaving net charges just over $2 million and collections at about one-third so far, consistent with expected insurance-collection timing. Staff noted dependence on Medicare/Medicaid for roughly 60% of payments and said typical collection windows can take several months.

Board action: Supervisor Tom Duffy moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting; Supervisor Jeff Haney seconded. The board approved the minutes by voice vote (roll-call tally not given in the transcript). Later, Supervisor Stacy Hessel moved and Jeff Haney seconded a resolution to assign the 2024 dental-plan surplus ($7,774) into a separate assigned fund balance; the board approved the resolution by voice vote.

Other fiscal notes: Staff discussed the county's CIP activity (including a share of repair costs on a Birch Dam improvement in neighboring Washburn County and work at Fishtrap); depreciation for highway equipment of about $483,000; one maturing $3 million CD in May and plans for reinvestment; and roughly $200,000 in ARPA funds committed but not yet paid pending completion of two broadband projects.

Why it matters: The financial updates show the county is managing cash flows, collections and transfers to reduce levies in the short term and to shore up selected funds; the dental assignment creates a small reserve to smooth future premium volatility. Staff said they will continue to monitor overtime and salary pressures in departments such as Highway and EMS.

Public-safety coordination: Board members asked whether a new clinic at LCO (referenced in the meeting as "LCO") could field ambulance service and what that would mean for county staffing and revenue. County staff explained any separate ambulance service would require defined service territory and dispatch coordination; staff cautioned that if the county continues to staff ambulances for territory where another service responds, revenue and subsidy questions would need coordination.

The meeting record shows the two routine board votes (minutes and dental fund assignment) were approved by voice vote; the transcript does not provide roll-call tallies.