Humboldt County approves FY2025-26 budget after public hearing; board accepts deputy resignation and approves hiring process

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved the fiscal year 2025-26 budget (Resolution 421) following a public hearing and presentation by county staff, and took several other routine personnel and permitting actions during the meeting.

Auditor Trish, who presented the budget to the board, said the levy rates are calculated from countywide valuations and department needs. "Levy rates are based upon the needs of the county, government operations where expenditures are regulated by the Board of Supervisors and state mandates," she said. She told supervisors the combined county rate was calculated after accounting for countywide and rural-service levies.

Trish said the county's general levy portion is 3.84058 and the rural-services portion is roughly 3.8345 (as presented), and said the county is aiming to reduce the rate toward 3.5 within the multi-year plan discussed during the presentation. She also referenced House File 78 in explaining state guidance on rate goals.

The auditor presented revenue and expenditure highlights: the county's budgeted revenues for the coming year were shown as approximately $7,000,008.58 with a re-estimate for the current year near $8,000,002.32 and an annual change reported as an increase of about 4.8 percent. Major expenditure categories noted included public safety and legal services (sheriff, jail, attorney, juvenile services, medical examiner), physical health and social services (public health, community services, veterans assistance, chemical dependency), conservation and secondary roads (equipment, paving, projects), and governmental services such as elections, treasury, IT and courthouse operations.

Following the presentation and a hearing during which no written objections were recorded, a supervisor moved to close the public hearing. The board then voted to adopt Resolution 421 to approve the FY2025-26 budget. The motion carried with all supervisors voting in favor.

Votes at a glance

- FY2025-26 budget, Resolution 421: Motion to approve carried (all in favor; no recorded opposition). The auditor confirmed the county will transmit filings to Des Moines as required and indicated the submission is scheduled to sit on the 30th.

- Permit: Motion approved to grant Midland Power Co-op a permit for underground service work at 1230 Birch Avenue. The permit was approved after a mover and a seconder; no opposition was recorded during the vote.

- Management plan: The board voted to accept and place on file an annual update (described in the meeting as a short-form management plan) for Bragg (file numbers cited during the presentation). The board voted in favor; no opposition was recorded.

- Resignation of Deputy David Jones: The board voted to accept the resignation of Deputy David Jones, effective immediately as stated in the resignation letter. The motion carried with all in favor.

- Hiring process for replacement deputy: Supervisors approved the hiring process and authorized the sheriff to advertise and conduct hiring steps, with parameters discussed for starting wages tied to experience and certification status (e.g., uncertified starting at roughly 60% of a certified pay scale, with higher steps for experience). The board approved moving forward with advertising and the standard selection process.

- Closed session: The board voted to go into closed session pursuant to the code citation provided in the motion (recorded in the meeting as "IO code 20 21 dot 5"). A roll-call vote was recorded with supervisors Bruce, Sandy, Bob, Simon and Rick voting "Aye".

Discussion and context

During the personnel discussion, the sheriff (unnamed in the transcript) described the department's planned timeline for advertising and hiring and outlined hiring standards and testing procedures for uncertified applicants. The sheriff noted that the written examination used statewide by Standard & Associates includes sections on math, grammar, sentence structure and reading comprehension, and that applicants must meet minimum section scores (the sheriff referenced a 70 percent minimum) to pass. He also described the physical-agility standards, which vary by 10-year age brackets, and identified the mile-and-a-half run time for younger age brackets as a common elimination point.

On elections and administrative costs, the auditor explained a reallocation of certain administrative wage components across budgets (which contributed to an increase in the elections line this year). The auditor also discussed GIS funding and noted that some GIS costs are currently paid through the assessor's budget.

The board and staff said secondary roads remain one of the largest budgetary line items because of ongoing equipment, paving and project costs. The auditor summarized the distribution of property-tax burdens for different local jurisdictions for illustrative purposes and noted examples of how a resident's tax share might split between city, county and school levies.

Ending

The board adopted the FY2025-26 budget and completed the listed routine actions during the meeting. The auditor said the county's filing to the state is scheduled to be on the 30th as required. Supervisors also authorized the sheriff to begin advertising and selection steps to fill the vacant deputy position and approved the other routine permits and filings presented at the meeting.