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Finance committee hears midyear budget update; general fund reserves $2.5 million
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Summary
Treasurer and comptroller reported midyear financials to the Washington County Quorum Court Budget and Finance Committee, citing rising sales-tax receipts, recent ARPA expenditures, and a health-insurance fund at about 50% of budget through midyear.
Treasurer Hill and Comptroller Sherman reported midyear financial results to the Washington County Quorum Court Budget and Finance Committee during its July meeting, saying the county remains in generally strong financial condition but monitoring health-plan claims and some grant-driven budget increases.
Treasurer Hill told the committee the county began the month with about $96.3 million in cash and ended the month with roughly $93.3 million. He said the county expended about $1.5 million of ARPA funds in the month, including roughly $940,000 for COVID mitigation and about $500,000 for an ELC construction project.
Hill reported sales-tax receipts were up year over year. He said the 1-cent sales tax brought in $933,000 for the reporting period (a 4.3% increase over the same time last year) and was 5.8% higher year to date. He said the quarter-cent sales tax dedicated to the jail totaled about $1.4 million and is up roughly 5.6% through the comparable period, with about $549,000 more than through the same point in 2024.
Comptroller Paul Sherman briefed the committee on appropriations and reserves. He said the county's unappropriated general fund reserves stand at $2.5 million and that the county has appropriated about $53 million in the general fund so far and spent about $22 million, which Sherman said leaves the general fund approximately $3.6 million under budget through six months. He also said countywide appropriations total about $150 million, with about $59 million spent and $12 million encumbered.
Sherman reviewed major mission funds: roads were appropriated about $16.7 million with $7.8 million spent and some encumbrances; jail operations were appropriated $29.1 million with encumbrances and vacancies affecting personnel budgets. After a question from JP Stafford about a numeric mismatch, Sherman corrected an earlier statement and said the jail operations and maintenance fund is under budget by about $2 million through six months.
On the county health-insurance fund, consultant/benefits presenter Mr. Angel reported monthly gross costs of roughly $730,000, but significant rebates reduced net spending. He said the plan received a $40,000 guaranteed credit tied to retention of the pharmacy benefit manager and an Rx rebate of about $233,000, bringing net spend for the month to about $457,000 and producing a $137,000 surplus relative to the budgeted funding level for that month. Sherman said the insurance fund was budgeted at $9 million for the year and is at about 50% of budget through midyear; he noted the fund balance has decreased from about $3 million when he took office to below $1 million and that stop-loss insurance is in place if claims spike.
Committee members asked for additional detail at budget time, including a breakdown of road department leases and a closer look at the Johnson Controls debt buyout option. JP Lenny asked how many employees take county health insurance; Sherman said the county employs about 625 full-time staff but did not have on-hand the number enrolled in the health plan and offered to provide that figure later.
No committee action was required on the reports; members moved several ordinances and resolutions later in the meeting.
