Finance committee outlines limited paths to replenish Ashland County's unassigned fund balance

Pat Kenny, finance committee chair, opened a wide-ranging discussion on how Ashland County could replenish its unassigned fund balance if the board draws on it for one-time needs.

"To me, at least, that's important because it helps us to understand that if we use unassigned fund balance for something, we should also understand the challenges of replenishing that," Kenny said as he introduced the topic.

County Administrator Mark said there are only two realistic sources for growing unassigned fund balance: budget surpluses at year end and one-time revenues. "There are only 2 sources of funds for the unassigned balance. That would be any budget surplus from the previous year, which would include any money we had left in contingency or, one-time dollars," Mark said. He and other staff cited examples such as federal one-time grants and forthcoming carbon-credit proceeds as eligible sources that could end up in unassigned balance.

Mark clarified restrictions that limit other revenue streams. Money placed on the debt levy can only be used for debt-levy-eligible capital expenses, he said, and therefore cannot be redirected into unassigned funds for general purposes. "Money put on the debt levy can only be used for debt levy eligible expenses," Mark said, citing an example in which surplus debt-levy money helped pay toward an HVAC down payment for the sheriff's department.

Committee members discussed how supporting community programs from the general levy draws from the same pool that would otherwise replenish unassigned balance. Mark and other staff explained that some programs the county subsidizes are required by state or federal statute and therefore are not optional without policy or service changes. The committee also flagged efficiency reviews: members asked whether the Health and Human Services (HHS) department could run Meals on Wheels or other programs more cheaply in-house, rather than contracting them out.

Officials agreed to finish a fund-balance policy in January after budget season so the committee would have clearer guidance on target balances and how to replenish them if used. Kenny and others emphasized that the policy should reflect limits on what the county can change without cutting statutorily required services.

The committee did not take formal action on policy or transfers during this meeting; members confined the item to discussion and scheduling further analysis.

Pat Kenny noted that staff would bring a follow-up for the January meeting to allow the committee to conclude the fund-balance policy once revenue projections from the budget season are available.