Board reviews budget, receives LOST requests and approves $400,000 gaming-to-debt transfer
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
County staff presented FY26 reserve and levy scenarios; the board received LOST funding requests including a $40,000 county fair request and approved moving $400,000 from gaming revenues to the debt‑service fund while setting youth‑guidance budgeting at $75,000.
County finance staff presented FY26 reserve projections, levy options and requests for local‑option sales tax (LOST) funding, and the Board of Supervisors took several funding decisions affecting county services and capital accounts.
Staff provided three budget spreadsheets showing projected reserve levels, a maximum tax‑ask levy scenario and a no‑change levy scenario. Staff reported adjustments for additional federal inmate revenue and higher health insurance costs and described an estimated general‑basic reserve of roughly $810,800 (the meeting transcript contained a formatting anomaly that showed a larger number; staff confirmed the intended figure was in the low hundreds of thousands). The board received the documentation.
The board reviewed LOST requests and heard from Jason Ingram of the Woodbury County Fair, who requested $40,000 to finish work on a 4‑H building and other fair‑facility needs. Ingram said the request was an increase from the prior $35,000 annual award. The board received the fair’s request and other LOST items for further consideration.
Supervisors then discussed transfers from discretionary LOST and gaming revenues into the county’s debt‑service fund as a levy‑relief measure. After discussion, Supervisor Ong moved and Nelson seconded a motion to receive the gaming revenue materials and allocate $400,000 from gaming to debt service. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote. Separately, board members also discussed moving $300,000 from LOST to debt service as part of levy management; staff will finalize the allocation schedule and provide updated status reports.
On social‑service budgeting, the Department of Human Services representative Diane Foss briefed the board on juvenile shelter costs and statutes assigning county responsibility; she said juvenile shelter care can be unpredictable and cited a current daily rate of $4,665 for certain placements. The board reduced a proposed juvenile‑care allocation from $100,000 to $75,000 for the current cycle and approved the adjusted amount.
Board members asked staff to implement the agreed budget transfers and to circulate updated budget status information to the board.