Kossuth County supervisors review preliminary budget as state takes on mental-health funding; major equipment and capital requests remain

Kossuth County Board of Supervisors and county staff met in a budget workshop to review preliminary department requests and to reconcile revenues and transfers. The meeting focused on a set of funding shifts and one‑time capital needs, including a change in how mental‑health services will be funded, a large equipment request in secondary roads, sheriff office technology and vehicle upfits, and consideration of a $50,000 operating transfer to a building improvements fund.

County staff told supervisors that regional coordination that previously reimbursed the county for many mental‑health expenses will end at the close of this fiscal year and the state will now fund mental‑health services. County staff said that the county will remain directly responsible for youth residential care and local treatment services and will still need to pay some transport costs (for example, ambulance transfers) even after the regional reimbursement ends. Supervisors and staff said they budgeted for a youth residential care line and for treatment services; staff noted a February meeting to review details of the transition and to clarify which costs remain the county’s responsibility.

The budget review moved quickly through many departments but drew lengthy discussion from the secondary roads and engineering presentation. The county engineer’s preliminary figures showed wages and benefits for road staff, large planned outlays for equipment and construction, and increased material and operation costs. The draft includes about $2,000,000 in equipment purchases, $1,000,000 budgeted for roadway construction, and several other maintenance and materials lines. Staff said several graders, trucks and specialty machines are more than 20 years old and that replacing a snowblower or an upfitted truck can be expensive; road‑use tax revenue for the department was projected at roughly $6.7 million in the draft shared with supervisors.

Supervisors also discussed sheriff office equipment and vehicle needs. County staff and the sheriff’s office identified funding for new patrol vehicles, upfitting (lights, sirens, wiring and installation) and additional durable laptops (“Toughbooks”). The meeting noted equipment and vehicle costs have risen and staff pointed out recent and planned purchases in the prior fiscal year. Participants discussed a $250,000 capital placeholder for Toughbooks and related deployments; the board and staff said some of that equipment was budgeted using ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds and other vehicle/equipment funds, while routine motor‑vehicle lines in the sheriff’s budget cover replacements and routine upfitting.

The board reviewed human‑resources and administrative items, including the assessor’s office. Supervisors received an update that the conference board had few applicants for the assessor role; one candidate had completed the assessor’s test and the conference board is considering whether to increase the advertised salary to attract more applicants. Staff said the county may need to revisit the compensation level to secure qualified candidates; the board asked that the matter be discussed at conference board meetings and at upcoming budget workshops.

Several nondepartmental items drew attention. Staff identified a $50,000 operating transfer in the draft that would move money into a building improvements fund; supervisors discussed whether to keep that transfer (partly expected to save toward courthouse repairs or a parking lot project) and noted that transfers in and out must balance on the ledger. The meeting also reviewed TIF (tax increment financing) receipts: one 10‑year TIF term recently ended and funds that previously went to the City of Tyfecker or Gold Eagle now flow to the county; supervisors noted that revenues from new wind‑turbine projects are expected to increase receipts in coming years but that several turbines were not yet online, so the full revenue impact will arrive later.

Other budget issues included a discussion of self‑insurance and health‑insurance accounting. Staff flagged that they need to update health‑insurance figures across department worksheets based on more current insurance projections. Ambulance and EMS items also appeared in the nondepartmental review: staff said the ambulance service will continue to be reimbursed for some mental‑health transports and that a vehicle purchase for ambulance use was listed under ARPA in the draft.

Supervisors set follow‑up steps: staff will reconcile line items with department heads (including sheriff and ambulance), correct health‑insurance figures across worksheets, confirm the $50,000 transfer treatment in the final ledger, and report back at additional budget workshop sessions. The board scheduled further workshops and asked that staff circulate updated fund‑balance projections before the next meeting.

The workshop produced discussion and direction to staff but no formal votes were recorded during the session.