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Human Services board to map county services as shortfall looms
Summary
Dunn County’s Human Services Board began building a service catalog intended to clarify 'basic/better/best' service levels and guide 2027 budget choices after staff warned the county could face a $1 million–$5 million shortfall; some supervisors cautioned that tiering essential services risks becoming a tool for cuts.
The Human Services Board on Feb. 26 began an operational planning process to catalogue county services and set priorities ahead of next year’s budget cycle, after staff warned of a potential $1,000,000–$5,000,000 gap between departmental requests and available funds.
The chair introduced the initiative as a structured alternative to short, last-minute budget workshops, saying the county will ask departments to identify ‘‘basic, maybe better, maybe best’’ levels of service to create a consistent service catalog. ‘‘The estimates this time around are we could be 1,000,000 short. We could be 5,000,000 short over the departmental requests,’’ the meeting chair said.
Jenna Lee Nutter, assistant county manager, told the board extension staff provided a template to standardize the catalogs and that she will coordinate department-level work and follow up after the first meeting. ‘‘Garrett from extension has put together a template, and it is consistently formatted for each department,’’ Nutter said, describing the catalog as a foundation for budget discussions beginning in July.
Why it matters: Board members said the catalog could improve transparency for new board members and the public and give decision-makers a clearer way to compare programs when resources are constrained. But several supervisors warned the exercise could be misused as a vehicle for cuts if officials equate tiering with acceptability to eliminate services.
Supervisor concerns focused on two points: the risk of labeling essential human services as discretionary and the timing of the work alongside a major ERP (enterprise resource planning) implementation. One supervisor said the process ‘‘feels like it’s going to make us feel more comfortable about making cuts’’ and urged caution; another called for ensuring the catalog shows which services are mandated and by what funding sources so the board understands what it can realistically change.
Staff responded that the initial catalog will prioritize description and alignment (what the county does and why) and will not include cost data immediately. Nutter said cost and funding-source details are intended to follow as the county moves from descriptive catalogs to budget decisions in late summer.
The board did not take any formal action on the operational planning item on Feb. 26. Members set a target to begin committee-level analysis in May and a workshop in June, but several said they expect to start earlier because of the volume of work and the looming budget calendar.
Looking ahead: Staff said the executive committee will propose a small set of high-level strategic priorities to lens the catalog (examples mentioned included climate-related services). The board plans to use the catalog as an onboarding and public information tool, but members stressed the catalog must clearly identify mandates and funding sources before it is used to make cuts.
