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Polk County staff preview budget showing just over 12.3% preliminary levy increase; fund balances used to soften impact
Summary
County staff presented a draft 2025 budget that, after adjustments, showed a preliminary levy increase "just over 12.3%." Officials described using more than $600,000 in fund balances and other reserves to reduce levy pressure and flagged potential structural risks from repeated fund-balance use.
Unidentified Speaker 3 presented the county's draft 2025 budget and said the county had earlier projected levy increases above 30% but is now "just over 12.3% levy increase." He explained departments submit budgets at different times and said staff used fund balances and one-time capital spending to lower the levy.
"I'm at a, a 12 12 point, just over 12.3% levy increase," Unidentified Speaker 3 said while reviewing the levy calculations. He told commissioners the plan includes using multiple reserves: "So we're using essentially $669,000 of various fund balances to, bring the levy down." He also said he added $500,000 in general fund balance to the proposal.
The presentation described how revenue and expense lines are presented (favorable revenue shown in parentheses) and how debt-service rules shape the levy: the county must levy 105% of its debt-service payments, and staff are projecting offsets from a 5% calculation of existing fund balance. Unidentified Speaker 3 said he also removed a proposed $1.2 million highway shop design from the levy to lower pressure and will return with planning and finance-structure recommendations before advancing large projects.
The staff presentation showed the county applying more than $3.3 million of fund balance across multiple funds and specifically taking $1.2 million from the social services fund balance to reduce the levy. "I pinched them for 1,200,000.0," Unidentified Speaker 3 said, adding he was concerned about creating a long-term structural deficit if such use continues.
Unidentified Speaker 3 also said some departments had increasing costs tied to wages and benefit contributions, and that court costs have trended up since the pandemic. He noted eight labor groups had tentative agreements: "of the 8, unions that we've had tentative agreements with 8 of them, 2 have voted in favor," and one union had recently voted no.
Next steps: commissioners asked staff to digest the numbers and return for further review. They agreed to revisit the budget at the Nov. 19 meeting and noted a public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 3 at 6 p.m.
