Chickasaw County supervisors spent the bulk of their Jan. 5 meeting on department budget briefings and capital planning. Joel Knutson, EMS director, told the board a vendor quote to build a new ambulance came in "over $400,000," and he recommended the county and its 20/80 partner cities plan for one payment next fiscal year rather than two to preserve cash flow and match municipal budgeting cycles.

Knudtson (Joel Knutson) explained trade-in values and possible cost offsets: retaining the current power-load system could reduce the new-vehicle price by roughly $70,000 and a trade-in on an existing unit could yield another substantial offset (he estimated an order-of-magnitude trade-in near $100,000 for the oldest unit). He said typical lead time for a build is about two years, and chassis selection (truck chassis vs. van) was a key factor affecting maintenance, alignment and local serviceability.

Board members discussed timing and the agreement that funds the service (the 20/80 arrangement). Several supervisors said cities had budgeted for two payments but would likely prefer one; the board recorded a consensus to ask the cities to budget for a single, larger payment next fiscal year and to revisit the question at the Jan. 19 meeting, when the county will decide whether to trigger any April payment.

Beyond EMS, supervisors heard multiple departmental presentations during the work session. Highlights included the sheriff's budget reorganization (moving some salaries into administration and budgeting for housing payments), the county attorney and auditor noting software and election equipment costs, and the engineer's report on winter operations and pending grant submissions. Some departments flagged potential midyear requests and the board discussed using March/April budget amendments for unforeseen capital repairs.

The board did not take a binding vote on the ambulance purchase or on formal changes to the 20/80 agreement; next procedural steps are staff preparing budget guidance to the cities and a fuller fiscal decision at the Jan. 19 meeting.