The Polk County Board of Commissioners met on Wednesday at the Polk County Government Center and reviewed the preliminary budgets for the County Attorney, Public Health Department, and the Tri-County Community Corrections Department.
COUNTY ATTORNEY PRELIMINARY BUDGET DISCUSSION
Polk County Attorney Greg Widseth proposed the County Attorney’s preliminary budget to the board. The proposed budget included a total of $1,597,804, with 95% of the expenditure going toward salaries.
Widseth stated that staffing has been an issue of late, which seems to be the biggest challenge at the attorney’s office. “Making sure you have staff you need and being able to fill positions that’s the most difficult thing,” said Widseth, “We’re trying to budget and think for the future and where the county is going.”
PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT PRELIMINARY BUDGET
The next preliminary budget that was proposed to the board was for the Public Health Department. The budget included $3,958,679 in expenditures, with 88% allocated toward labor and salaries. It also included one-third of the total budget going toward tax dependency.
Public Health Director Sarah Reese proposed the budget to the board and included in the budget the utilization of the American Recovery Plan Act funds from the county in the amount of $30,000. “One of the categories for that fund is Public Health, mental health, and substance use services,” said Reese, “When we reviewed the eligible expenses, we discussed the options for opportunities to utilize some of the ARPA funding for our staff that will be in the jail.”
The Public Health Department receives much of its funding from the state and federal agencies. They also receive funding from state health care programs. Reese stated the public health department is set to receive $126,256 in grants from the state in 2024. The total amount of estimated revenue for the department is $2,753,114, in which they will receive 46% from federal funding and 36% from state funding.
Reese also brought the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention department portion of the budget to the board. This sub-budget included the expected revenue to be in the amount of $284,310 and total expenditures to be in the amount of $319,737. This department allows individuals who don’t have stable insurance or limited resources to have access to vaccines.
“We do a variety of different immunizations who are uninsured or underinsured,” said Reese, “We also have a referral and connection role for individuals that have private insurance who have limited resources to access immunizations.” This department can provide flu vaccinations, COVID-19 vaccinations, and others. Reese stated the department budgeted to renew the state and federal eligibility requirements to keep those services available.
TRI-COUNTY COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS DEPARTMENT PRELIMINARY BUDGET
The Polk County Board of Commissioners reviewed the Tri-County Community Corrections preliminary budget, which Corrections Executive Director Andrew Larson presented.
The proposed budget included the Justice Center receiving $1.7 million in a CCA subsidy, nearly $700,000 more than they received in 2023. The budget also had an expected decrease in revenue at the jail of $50,000 on the work release line item.
Larson also explained to the board there will be a $77,000 increase in the budget for workers’ compensation, which has reportedly more than doubled since 2021. The total proposed budget for the Corrections Department has reportedly increased by 4% since 2019.
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