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Board-level budget: Debbie Anderson outlines $266 million revenue estimate and ARPA carryovers
Summary
Debbie Anderson, Polk County budget manager, presented the board budget overview: estimated revenue of $266 million (primarily property taxes), requested expenses of $64 million, and explained reductions tied to prior ARPA allocations and phased-out commercial property replacement funds.
Debbie Anderson, Polk County—s budget manager, presented the Board of Supervisors budget and explained that this fund captures revenues and expenses not directly tied to a single county department. "We have estimated revenue of $266,000,000 which is primarily property taxes," Anderson told the board as she opened the presentation.
Anderson said the board is proposing requested expenses of about $64,000,000 and that the county's taxable valuation rose about 3.5 percent, which would have generated roughly $3.7 million more in tax revenue. She said House File 718 requires removing about one percentage point from that valuation growth, effectively yielding a 2.5 percent valuation growth and reducing the revenue gain by roughly $1,000,000.
The presentation outlined other revenue and timing items: about $3.4 million expected from the Des Moines Airport and economic development loan repayments, repayment of deferred loans to Genesis and the YMCA, and a lingering $1,000,000 FEMA reimbursement still expected from COVID-19-related claims. Anderson said some current-year projects (Northeast Rising Sun, school radio amplifiers, and resource center construction) will complete in the current fiscal year and not recur in FY26, reducing next year—s expenditures.
On the expense side, Anderson said a decrease of about $85,000,000 in FY26 primarily reflects spending down earmarked ARPA lost-revenue replacement (roughly $40—$45 million) that had been dedicated to mental health, affordable housing, economic programs and water quality projects; once those carryovers are spent they no longer appear in the next year—s budget. She also flagged modest expenditure increases for Emergency Management, HazMat and Polk County Aviation Authority, and described personnel adjustments for COLA, base wages, merit and benefits.
Board members asked follow-up questions about specific projects; Anderson acknowledged there would be additional conversations and briefings as the budget process continues.
