Finance committee approves 2025 levy package, defers $2.75 million communications project

The Sawyer County finance committee on the agenda approved a series of budget adjustments that reduce near-term debt service and delay a major communications project.

Committee members were told the changes reduce debt service by about $177,000 from what was presented last month and remove a $2.75 million communications and tower project from the 2025 borrowing schedule. In place of the first-year repayment on that project, the committee approved $365,000 in other capital improvements, yielding a net CIP for next year just above $2 million, the presenter said.

The presenter said the borrowing for the communications project will not occur before year-end, meaning any debt-service payments would be budgeted starting in 2026 rather than 2025. "We won't bond until next year, so the debt service payment won't be in the 2025 budget," the presenter explained to the committee.

Despite the changes, the committee was told the overall mill rate will remain unchanged; the packet lists the net levy change as a $177,000 reduction and a 3.36% year-over-year increase in the levy total figure. The committee moved and approved the resolution to adopt the 2025 county budget and property tax levy as presented.

Committee members asked questions about the timing and interest-rate implications of delaying the borrowing. The presenter noted that shifting the bond could improve the market timing for interest rates but emphasized that the board would need to approve the project and the borrowing before any funds are issued.

The committee also voted to approve a proposed CIP loan note to cover capital needs and to work with the county's depository bank for shorter-term issuance to save on issuance costs and interest.

The committee forwarded the adopted levy and the updated CIP to the full county board for final action.