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Finance director flags $1.8 million structural shortfall in human services after spike in youth-justice costs
Summary
County finance staff told supervisors Human Services faces a roughly $1.8 million structural deficit driven largely by unbudgeted youth justice placements; staff said options include increasing funding, reducing services or drawing on general-fund balances.
Sawyer County finance officials reported that Human Services (HHS) ran a substantial shortfall in 2024 and that the department faces a structural deficit of about $1.8 million, largely driven by higher-than-budgeted youth-justice placement costs.
Mike, the county finance director, told the committee that HHS was about $1.2 million over budget in youth-justice expenses last year and that overall the department sits on a structural deficit of approximately $1.8 million. He said the county had planned a $600,000 transfer from the general fund and a $750,000 draw from HHS fund balance for 2025, leaving about $1.35 million of the $1.8 million not yet adjusted in budget assumptions.
The committee heard that the county currently has multiple youths placed in out-of-county facilities, including Lincoln Hills and Mendota, and in treatment centers; those placements drive much of the unexpected 2024 costs. Mike said staff will begin meetings to consider options to address the gap, including increasing funding, reducing services, or using general-fund balances.
Supervisors asked for clarification on the trajectory of HHS finances and were told that while the county had occasional surpluses in earlier years, 2024’s spike in youth placements produced the current shortfall. No formal policy changes or specific dollar transfers were approved at the meeting; the discussion centered on next steps for budgeting and program management.
