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County financials on track for Q1; jail medical spending flagged for follow‑up
Summary
Finance staff told commissioners property tax collections and state revenue sharing are tracking as expected for the first quarter; certain departmental line items—including jail medical expenses—appeared on the report’s hot sheet for early‑year spending above thresholds.
Kootenai County Finance Director Kyle Westerman presented the county’s first‑quarter fiscal report for fiscal year 2025 on Feb. 25, providing year‑to‑date comparisons and a department‑level “hot sheet” of items that require monitoring.
Why it matters: the quarterly report flags departmental spending that may require budget adjustments and informs near‑term fiscal decisions for county leadership.
Westerman said property tax collections were “right where we expect to be,” reporting about 52% of the levy collected as of Dec. 31 for the fiscal year. He also told the commissioners that state revenue‑sharing and state sales‑tax receipts—typically received in February—were trending on budget, with the morning’s pull showing 25.5% of the state revenue‑sharing budget and 25.7% of the state sales‑tax budget collected as of that update. Westerman noted the county’s investment holdings were showing an unrealized loss at that time; market gains or losses are recognized per accounting rules at year end.
On the hot sheet, Westerman drew attention to two items: airport expenses tied to an unbudgeted line item (he referenced an amount in the meeting and said the airport later obtained a budget adjustment), and jail operations where the medical line item was showing higher than anticipated spending—Westerman said the jail medical line was at about 48% of its annual budget by the end of the first quarter, a rate that will require monitoring. Westerman explained the county flags any line that exceeds 32% after first quarter to allow staff and elected officials to watch timing and potential budget pressure.
Commissioners noted prior underfunding in jail medical and asked staff to keep monitoring and return with information if adjustments are required.
No formal budget amendments were adopted during the presentation; Westerman said staff will bring any required adjustments to the board as needed.
