Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Mill Levy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Douglas County commissioners set delinquency rate at 1.5% in budget deliberations
Summary
After extended debate about reserve risk and program funding, the commission reached consensus to use a 1.5% delinquency-rate assumption — down from 2% — modestly lowering the county’s mill levy and preserving about $953,776 in behavioral-health ongoing capacity under the current proposals.
Douglas County commissioners ended a day of budget deliberations by agreeing to use a 1.5% delinquency-rate assumption when finalizing the mill levy, a staff-led spreadsheet showed and commissioners confirmed.
The adopted assumption reduces the county’s tax-rate calculation slightly from the previously used 2% assumption. Chair said the 1.5% number reflected a balance between keeping reserves and modestly lowering the tax burden; staff had shown that, with the transfers currently proposed, the behavioral health fund’s ongoing capacity sits at "just under 1000000 $953,776," according to staff.
Why it matters: the delinquency rate is an actuarial assumption used to compute the mill levy. Commissioners debated risk to the general-fund reserve and whether reductions might require future mill-levy increases if collections fall short. Several commissioners said they were willing to accept a modest reduction (to 1.5%) but not to lower the assumption beyond that without further analysis.
What commissioners said: commissioners noted the county faces uncertainties — potential changes to PPS rates and contract renegotiations that could affect behavioral-health spending — and urged caution in drawing down reserves. One commissioner said staff’s recommended numbers represented careful, experienced judgment; another said the commission’s target was to hold a flat levy, not to force a larger reduction.
Next steps: staff will prepare the maximum mill-levy notices and the roll-and-rate (R&R) materials for the next meeting and will update reserve calculations under the 1.5% assumption. The commission adjourned and will reconvene the following morning to finalize remaining budget items.
