Atchison County reports temporary general-fund shortfall; commissioners debate reserve options

Atchison County commissioners were told Jan. 21 that the county’s general fund is temporarily negative and will likely remain so until the county’s tax distribution on Jan. 31.

Finance Director Mark Selvner told the Board of County Commissioners that with payroll and accounts payable processed early in the year, “we will continue to be negative until that happens.” He said the accounts payable batch for the next payday included about $55,007.89 in expenses and a credit-card run of about $7,005.21. Selvner estimated the county-wide shortfall would deepen to “about $270,000” before the January distribution is posted.

The discussion matters because the commission is considering whether to move leftover 2024 budget amounts into a formal reserve and how to treat cash held in certificates of deposit. Selvner said the county ended 2024 with an overall cash balance that included a certificate of deposit that had been cashed in; he described roughly $215,000 of that year-end balance as tied to a CD that had been encashed to cover obligations.

Commissioners and staff reviewed other funds linked to sales tax receipts. Selvner said the solid-waste fund began 2025 about $80,300 negative and joint communications dispatch about $82,600 negative; those shortfalls reflect the common pattern of starting a calendar year with expenditures before scheduled distributions. He noted the county receives tax distributions several times a year (January, a March/April payment, June and October) and that timing can cause month-to-month negatives even when receipts are expected later.

The commission also reviewed reserve-account totals. Selvner reported approximately $365,001.68 in appointed reserves under commission control and said there was roughly $154,303 of unspent budget authority across departments for 2024 that could be rolled into reserves — but only if the county has the actual cash to transfer. He warned that, after subtracting the CD and year-end cash timing differences, rolling all unspent budgets into reserves would leave the county with a negative available cash balance at the start of 2025.

Commissioners pressed for more detail on causes of the 2024 revenue shortfall. They asked staff to check with the treasurer and the appraiser’s office about late payments, abatements and any significant valuation changes that may have reduced 2024 collections. The finance director said staff will bring an updated collections report to the Feb. 4 meeting and recommended caution about moving additional cash into reserves until the commission sees the distribution results.

Commissioners discussed policy options including creating clearer rules for when departmental year-end balances may be rolled to reserves and whether to keep current appointed reserves intact to cover unexpected shortfalls. Selvner said one option would be to avoid transferring unspent departmental budgets into reserves now and instead preserve existing appointed reserves until collections are confirmed.

The board did not adopt a specific reserve-transfer motion on Jan. 21; instead commissioners directed staff to produce collection comparisons (year‑over‑year and abatements) and to report back on Feb. 4. The discussion also included suggestions to inventory delinquent collections and to ask the treasurer for a point-in-time comparison to help project whether the 2025 revenue pattern will match past years.