Finance staff reports improved general‑fund outlook; committee asks staff to draft fund‑balance policy

County finance staff presented preliminary closeout figures for the 2024 budget year and told the Ashland County Finance Committee the county’s unassigned general‑fund balance is stronger than recent years.

Finance staff explained that a court order nullified certain real‑estate tax receivables (the “Sanborn properties”), prompting a write‑off of about $1.4 million; the Wisconsin Department of Revenue then provided roughly $1.7–$1.8 million in state aid related to that matter. As a result of those accounting entries and accruals that remain to be finalized, staff said the unassigned general‑fund balance was about $1.8 million in staff calculations.

“One measure that the GFOA and other governments look at, you’d like to keep that number 15 to 16% … and that’s about 1.9,” a county finance presenter said, explaining the county’s current position versus the Government Finance Officers Association guideline. Staff cautioned several closeout entries and accruals were still in process and that some figures will change as departments submit late invoices and accruals are recorded.

Committee members asked that staff draft a formal fund‑balance policy as well as a budget‑amendment policy to provide clarity for future decisions. Staff agreed to prepare drafts for committee review prior to the next meeting.

Finance staff also noted that the county’s ARPA/LTACF funds may provide $300,000–$400,000 that could be used to help close out the county’s self‑insured health plan; that potential use was discussed and later the committee voted to apply the remaining ARPA balance to health‑insurance debt.

Committee members said the written fund‑balance and budget‑amendment policies will help guide future budget decisions and formalize target reserve levels for the county.