Belknap County finance report: $5.2M cash position, $16M borrowing approved by executive committee; nursing home reductions proposed

Laurie Sharp presented the county’s financial report, telling commissioners the county's cash position entering 2025 was $5,225,712 and that the executive committee approved seeking authority to borrow up to $16,000,000 for 2025.

Sharp walked commissioners through revenue and expense lines. She reported a combined revenue and expense surplus that adds $1,406,244 to the fund balance at the end of 2024 and said the estimated fund balance for the end of 2024 is $5,000,970 (unaudited). On revenue, she said interest earned exceeded estimates by $188,890 and outside details and restorative justice grant lines also brought in additional revenue.

On the expense side Sharp listed department-level variances, noting a $93,047 surplus in the county attorney's office; a $1,055 surplus in administration; a $16,251 surplus in IT; a $2,353 deficit in finance; a $10,231 surplus in deeds; a $386 deficit in county maintenance; a $13,078 deficit in the sheriff's department; a $141,864 surplus in corrections; a $12,093 surplus in restorative justice; and a $272,308 surplus in health and human services. She said the nursing home showed a $131,937 deficit, which she attributed to contracted nursing.

Sharp told commissioners that receivables from 2023 and earlier continue to be collected and that staff is still finalizing an accounting cleanup; she said staff expects a write-off request at a future meeting and gave a rough current estimate of about $60,000 in potential write-offs with roughly $45,000 in an allowance for doubtful accounts.

Commissioners discussed potential one-time transfers, including a proposal to transfer roughly $15,000 to cover an unanticipated expense in the sheriff's budget; timeline for transfers and any final requests will be brought back at a subsequent meeting. Commissioners also reviewed proposed reductions to the nursing home budget; the board discussed and gave general support for a package described in the meeting as "236" though the transcript did not specify whether that number referred to dollars, thousands, or another unit.

Sharp said staff will defer any final transfer requests until February to ensure late invoices are captured before making final adjustments. Commissioners did not take a final, separate vote to authorize transfers at the meeting; they signaled support to allow the budget review committee to implement the proposed nursing home reductions.

The finance briefing included questions from commissioners about interest rate movements, the timing of potential transfers and the mechanics of receivable write-offs. Sharp said interest was higher in the prior period (around 5 percent) and that the county had been earning interest on ARPA-held funds.

The finance report and the nursing home reduction proposal were discussed at length; commissioners requested follow-up documentation for the receivables write-off and confirmed the county will present finalized transfer requests at the next meeting.