Greenlee County presents balanced $21.49 million FY27 operating budget, plans $7.2M in capital spending and transfers

County finance staff presented a balanced fiscal-year 2027 operating budget of $21,489,193 and described several fund transfers and capital commitments intended to preserve services while addressing rising pension costs.

"As of today, we're balanced," the presenter said, summarizing the staff proposal to the Greenlee County Board of Supervisors. The package, described during an extended budget work session, includes a 4% wage increase, an 8.3% rise in medical costs and updated retirement rates. Staff reported 122 budgeted general-fund full-time positions and 48 positions in special revenue funds.

Why it matters: staff told the board the county will set aside about $7.2 million in capital improvement funds to cover upcoming projects and that aggregating capital charges into a single capital-improvement fund is intended to make project spending and oversight clearer. Officials said the budget includes both operating appropriations and capital forecasts; when capital is included for reporting purposes, staff said the county is showing roughly $50 million in total budget activity across funds.

Key details presented by staff (as stated to the board): operating budget total $21,489,193; a year-over-year decrease of about $650,000; available capital-improvement funds of approximately $7.2 million; proposed transfer of $925,000 in LATCF funds into the capital-improvement fund; and a proposed $700,000 payment toward the county's PSPRS unfunded liability (staff said that liability is about $711,000). Staff also reported planned equipment purchases and leases for road equipment, and an ambulance set-aside discussed for the public health district.

Transfers and funding moves: presenters explained that several transfers and vacancy savings would be used to fund obligations and purchases. Examples cited by staff included moving $100,000 from an attorney vacancy, $150,000 from grounds and maintenance, and a $650,000 contingency transfer to assemble the funds described for pension payment and fleet purchases. Staff also described moving $1 million in vacancy savings into the flood district fund and setting aside $400,000 of transfers for a future ambulance purchase in the public health district.

Revenue and taxes: staff walked the board through revenue assumptions, saying state shared sales tax, a county half-cent sales tax and PILT remain key revenue sources. They identified assessed value declines (from $463 million to $435 million) that affect levy calculations. Staff presented a truth-in-taxation figure described in the packet as "8967," which presenters said equates roughly to an 89-cent equivalent rate when discussed in board comments; staff recommended conservative revenue forecasts.

Pension strategy: staff urged the board to consider a near-term PSPRS payment to reduce long-term interest costs, describing an unfunded liability they placed at about $711,000 and proposing a $700,000 payment this year. "We're going to make that payment this year to get ahead of the game and try and drop that interest rate back down," staff said. Board members asked questions about rate assumptions and long-term savings.

Next steps and context: staff said formal budget documents will be sent to the board in the agenda packet and that the tentative budget will be considered at the board's next meeting, with final adoption scheduled in July. The presentation included line-item schedules and notes on equipment leases; no final appropriation vote occurred during the work session.

Closing: board members thanked staff for the work on the budget presentation and the meeting adjourned following the scheduled items.