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Dubuque County supervisors tentatively agree to split Sunnycrest levy while staff finalizes transition date
Summary
After hours of debate about a projected $2.4 million countywide operating deficit, supervisors signaled provisional consensus to split Sunnycrest’s requested 42¢ levy—21¢ collected by the county and 21¢ by Sunnycrest’s trustees—and to let staff and trustees set a mutually agreeable transition date to ease cash‑flow and shared‑services changes.
Dubuque County supervisors on Tuesday moved toward splitting the 42¢ levy requested to support Sunnycrest after extended discussion about a newly projected $2.4 million countywide operating deficit if Sunnycrest’s allocation is removed.
The board did not take a final binding vote but several supervisors expressed support for levying half the requested 42¢ for the county and allowing Sunnycrest trustees to levy the other half. Stella, a county budget staff member, told the board that removing Sunnycrest’s allocation adds about $515,000 to the general basic deficit and raises the countywide shortfall to roughly $2.4 million once other adjustments are included.
The move would give Sunnycrest earlier access to levy revenue and allow a longer transition period for shared services, staff said. “One of the things I would like to put on the table… is looking at a different date of transition — perhaps January 1 instead of July 1 — to give a little bit more time to transition through some of these items,” Stella said during the meeting.
Sunnycrest representatives told the board their trustees hold a building‑restricted reserve that cannot be used for general payroll, but said Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements should provide recurring revenue. A Sunnycrest representative said trustees can transfer limited maintenance costs immediately but legal constraints limit use of certain funds for wages: “We did talk to an attorney today… it’s building and … upkeep of the building,” the representative said, noting some reserve constraints.
Board members raised cash‑flow and timing concerns for the months between a July transition and the fall tax collection, and debated whether the county should levy any amount as a “safety net.” One supervisor said he did not support the county collecting any portion of the 42¢, while others argued that a split would mitigate initial shortfalls and allow Sunnycrest to start a new budget year with funds on hand.
Stella said staff will prepare amended levy options and fiscal scenarios for the board’s next work session so supervisors can finalize decisions by Thursday, the deadline for entering numbers into the state system for taxpayer mailings.
What’s next: Staff will update levy scenarios and cash‑flow projections to reflect a potential 21¢/21¢ split and a January 1 transition option; the board will review revised options at a follow‑up meeting before setting the levy.
Provenance: introduction of the Sunnycrest budget impact is summarized from the staff presentation (topicintro: {"block_id_start":"SEG 523","block_id_end":"SEG 588","evidence_excerpt":"Removing Sunny Crest reimburses us... additional increase to the general basic deficit... 2,400,000" ,"reason_code":"topicintro"}) and the board’s tentative consensus appears later in the discussion (topfinish: {"block_id_start":"SEG 2200","block_id_end":"SEG 2210","evidence_excerpt":"I believe we have consensus that the 42¢ is split in half.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}).
