Commissioners examined the county’s year-end cash and budget summary and discussed policy options for cash-on-hand, reserve targets and long-term costs such as employee benefits insurance.

Commissioners and staff walked through a line-item cash summary and debated whether leftover funds should roll to the capital-improvement program or be set aside toward an employee-benefits/self-insurance reserve. Staff reported roughly $118,000 remaining in the commissioners’ budget. During the discussion a figure of approximately $9,090,000 was cited in reference to county investment accounts.

Speaker 5 outlined a multi-year target approach for an insurance reserve: if the county could accumulate roughly $1.3–1.4 million in a dedicated fund, earning conservative interest, the interest alone could partly offset annual increases in employee-benefits premiums. "If you have 1.3 or 1,400,000 sitting in the fund... the interest that it earns is 50 or 60,000 a year," Speaker 5 said, framing the reserve as a way to reduce premium pressure over time.

Commissioners also discussed engaging Lloyd Consulting Group (Scott Lloyd) earlier in the fiscal year to analyze trends and provide clearer historical comparisons to inform workshop discussions. The board asked staff to schedule a workshop reviewing December 2024 vs. the current year and to consider a follow-up session where the consultant (if earlier engaged) can present trend analysis.