Caldwell County DSS finance update: April spending and dates set for budget presentation and public hearing

Chris Conley, presenting the department's fiscal summary, told the board that April expenses were "just under $1,450,000," revenues or reimbursements were "just under $837,000," and the county-dollar portion expensed in the month was about $613,000.

Conley said year-to-date expenses are about $430,000 higher than the prior year and revenues about $143,000 lower, but cautioned that last year's numbers were skewed by a hurricane-relief fund included in the prior-year budget. "If we could pull that out, then our revenues are actually up $261,000 this year, and our county dollar would only be up a 168,000," Conley said.

In operational remarks, the director reported technical problems with NCFAST that have delayed referrals from workforce and Medicaid departments into the child-support system; staff said the state expected to resolve the batch-referral problem imminently. The director also said county leadership has been discussing a possible change in governance structure for DSS and Public Health. She said staff were briefed after some social-media coverage and expressed concern; the county manager will present a proposed budget at a public special meeting on June 1 and the commissioners will hold a public hearing and vote at their June 22 meeting.

The board received the financial update and was advised staff will watch the state systems issue and that community members can speak at the June 22 public hearing if they wish to comment on the budget. No formal board action on budget governance occurred at the meeting; the items were informational and preparatory for the upcoming county-level schedule.