Franklin County supervisors review department budgets, transfers and funding risks

Franklin County supervisors spent a morning workshop hearing department heads’ budget presentations and discussing choices that will shape the county’s fiscal year plan.

Treasurer Chad told the board he trimmed overtime and supplies lines but faces unavoidable increases in contracted software and postage. Chad said the office budgeted conservatively for interest income after recent swings: "last year, we made $450,000 in interest," he said, and that he budgeted $350,000 this year to avoid reliance on volatile rates.

The board discussed a proposal to charge drainage districts a $5 administrative fee per parcel to help recover staff time; the presenter estimated that at the $5 rate the county would have generated roughly $12,000–$13,000 in a recent year. The same presenter asked the board to earmark $15,000 this year and $15,000 next year into a special fund to replace iPads used for voter check‑in; the board indicated preliminary support for both ideas.

Sheriff budget remarks focused on staffing and equipment. The sheriff said one senior employee will retire this year and estimated hiring an additional deputy would cost about $90,000–$95,000 annually. "If you add a guy, do you foresee, like, overtime coming down?" a commissioner asked; the sheriff replied adding a deputy would likely reduce overtime by about 10 percent, not enough to pay for the new hire in full.

Speakers also flagged longer‑term revenue risks tied to state policy. The sheriff said state plans to consolidate 9‑1‑1 communications and change how the cell‑surcharge is collected could move funding away from counties: "If they base it off of per capita, I bet we'd see 80% [less]" in some local revenue, he said. Commissioners noted the county has invested in local 9‑1‑1 assets and asked staff to monitor legislative developments.

Secondary Roads Director Jay outlined a large capital and operating program, including a roughly $3.1 million aggregate/construction account, machine replacements and work to reuse crushed municipal concrete at lower cost. Jay also warned pavement‑marking alternatives (epoxy) cost multiple times current methods, and he noted that grader and dump truck orders will affect future equipment budgets.

Supervisors reviewed transfer options between funds, including a proposed transfer to secondary roads near the statutory maximum (roughly a 10.4 percent increase in one transfer line). Staff said they would model alternatives (75–100 percent of the maximum transfer) to see how each approach affects rural basic fund balances and the ability to fund requests such as a new deputy.

The meeting produced no formal changes to the budget; commissioners asked department heads to provide final wage and health‑insurance numbers and said they would revisit transfers and earmarks in upcoming meetings and amendments. A break was taken to continue the agenda later in the day.