Human Services preliminary 2025 results show roughly $148,000 deficit after reconciliations

County finance and human services staff told the committee their preliminary 2025 close showed a human services deficit of about $147,892.47, down from earlier worst-case projections because of several state reconciliations and settlements.

Jen, who prepared the report, said combined placement costs across the department exceeded budget by approximately $394,000 and that was a principal cost driver. She also described several post-budget state reconciliations that improved the county's position: a $57,000 correction tied to a 2023 cost-reporting error, a $236,000 Medicaid cost-reporting settlement for 2024 and a $92,000 reconciliation for the 2024 children's long-term support program that were recognized as 2025 receivables.

"We did receive additional state aid and program revenues that were not budgeted for 2025," Jen told the committee, outlining how those settlements lowered the projected deficit. Finance staff emphasized the preliminary nature of the numbers and that final figures depend on remaining closing entries across departments.

Committee members asked technical questions about whether late-arriving settlements should be viewed as offsets to prior-year deficits; staff explained accounting rules permit booking receivables when appropriate but that budget and trend analysis should consider timing differences across fiscal years.

Directors said the reconciliations will be used to refine 2027 budget projections and to consider options for smoothing placement costs, including possibly creating a rollover account for high placement-cost lines. No formal board action was taken at the meeting.