The Polk County Commissioners met Tuesday morning and were presented with an updated budget from Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting. The Commissioners approved raising the levy 2.88 percent, a big cut from the preliminary levy at 4.938 percent in September.
Whiting said major work on the budget is complete, and it meets the goal for a levy increase of three percent or less. “The levy will go up 2.88 percent over the 2020 levy,” said Whiting. “This was an objective of staying below three percent early on, knowing the situation with the pandemic and the detrimental effects with that. We have done that. We have no great initiatives scheduled for next year. No big projects or anything like that. Right now, we’re just trying to maintain operations and keep the county functioning as best as we can until things return to normal.”
The commissioners discussed the budget hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 15, to be held at the Polk County Transfer Station and moving it to a virtual format. However, Whiting said he believes it will ultimately remain an in-person meeting despite concerns over COVID-19. “The board discussed the need to consider not having that meeting in person,” said Whiting. “I think we’ll end up having the hearing at least in person. But considering the surge in COVID cases in the county, we have to be mindful of the health risks for the board, county employees, and the public. We’ll have an announcement on that, but right now, I think the public hearing part of it will go on as planned with what was included in the meeting notices that went out a few weeks ago.”
According to Whiting, the final levy cuts don’t stress the county departments too much, but several areas continue to have stressors from the ongoing pandemic. “Certainly, our public health department has been stretched,” said Whiting. “They’re working like crazy to adjust to what’s going on and meet the needs. We’re seeing impacts in Social Services as well. A lot of needs out there. Those are the two areas; I know Law Enforcement has to be careful. Every situation they respond to is a potential COVID situation, so they’re being careful. Some of our other departments that don’t have as much contact with the public are operating closer to normal.”
The State told the Highway Department to expect approximately 15 percent less in state highway funding in 2021, which led to a larger request on the original budget. Whiting said the County Engineer Rich Sanders made some changes and delayed some projects to get the levy down. “We made some adjustments in the highway budget,” said Whiting. “Rich Sanders was able to switch a few projects around, delay a few projects, to get their portion of the levy down. The reality when you get into engineering and roads is every project we do is an investment in the county’s infrastructure. From an investment and cash flow standpoint, you can put something off. It is like your house; if you don’t fix something, it may cost you more later. The board had a good discussion about it, but considering the pandemic, there isn’t a great deal of interest to go back and institute an increase in these taxes.”
Delays in projects and cuts were made in other departments, including the facility department projects to upgrade county buildings.
AUDIT & FINANCIAL SOFTWARE
A significant part of the 2021 budget planned over multiple years was the purchase of financial software to streamline the county’s financial processes, including documentation, a common concern of its annual audit.
The annual audit runs about 12 months behind, so the commissioners were given a summary of the 2019 audit Tuesday. Whiting said that while the need and desire for financial software are present, the challenges of 2020 make it a hard move to make. “The auditor noted that our capital asset management needs to be centralized more,” said Whiting. “That’s been something that we’ve always been able to cobb together. I know it’s not where it should be, but we had that in the budget, and I just took it out so we wouldn’t have to deal with it. It doesn’t mean that we won’t at some point in the future, but considering the circumstances, it made sense to hold off. The board wants to do it. We have to get ourselves situated where we can and revisit it. It’s not gone; it’s just not in the budget right now for 2021.”
Whiting said it appears the county is financially healthy, but he did have some concerns about how the audit would review the CARES Act funding due to convoluted guidance regarding those funds. “The state auditor does a very nice job, and we rely on him to give us sound advice,” said Whiting. “Some of the issues that show up are normal, and there is always something to catch to correct. I think it ended up alright. I expressed some concern about the audit for this year with all the CARES funds that have come in, some of the lack of guidance we’ve gotten, and the unusual circumstances we’re working with. That was basically my opinion, and I just wanted to put something in (the auditor’s) ear, so he remembers us next year.”
The County Board Chair, Commissioner Gary Willhite, will be meeting with Polk County Public Health about whether the upcoming budget hearing can be held in person at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 15, at the Polk County Transfer Station. An announcement on that meeting is expected from the county early next week.
