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Supervisors set budget timeline and warn proposed state limits on reserves could hurt county credit
Summary
Black Hawk County supervisors scheduled a budget work session before an April adoption hearing and discussed concern over a House proposal to cap unassigned fund balances at 35%, with the finance director noting Moody's cites fund balances below 50% as a downgrade risk.
The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors discussed budget timing and potential impacts of pending state legislation at its March 24 meeting, and staff urged the board to finalize key decisions before publishing the adoption hearing notice.
Michelle Weaver, finance director, briefed the board on legislative proposals being debated at the statehouse that could restrict counties' unassigned general-fund balances to 35 percent. "I went back and pulled our Moody's rating from last May... under the section about factors that could lead to a downgrade of the rating, a substantial weakening of cash and fund balance below 50 [percent]," Weaver said, noting that a 35 percent cap would be substantially closer to Moody's downgrade threshold and could affect the county's bond rating.
The board discussed scheduling and public engagement: staff recommended finalizing as many budget choices as possible during a work session in mid-April so the county can publish rates and program expenses ahead of the April 20 adoption hearing. Supervisors agreed to try a work session the week of April 13 — the board targeted April 13 at 4:00 p.m. for a listening-style work session in the Pinerest Chapel (or an alternate venue) to allow public input and give staff time to incorporate adjustments before printing legal notices.
Board members also reviewed options on the budget adjustment worksheet and the use of fund balance. Staff reiterated that published numbers can later be reduced before adoption but that the board should avoid pushing decisions to the last minute because of statutory publication deadlines.
Why this matters: county staff said limits on fund balance and changes to investment authority (IPAC-related bills) are evolving weekly, and the county has not been asked to take an official position yet. Weaver said county staff are working to educate legislators about how reserves are used and the potential unintended consequences to local governments.
Next steps: the board will attempt to finalize choices at scheduled work sessions so staff can complete required state forms and publish the budget-adoption notice; the adoption hearing remains planned for the week of April 20. Staff indicated they will provide updated budget worksheets and options to supervisors ahead of the work session.
