Debt service levy continues to be a concern for county budget
Oct. 17—EAU CLAIRE — The Eau Claire County Finance and Budget Committee has proposed amendments to eliminate bonding and create additional deputy positions within the Sheriff's Office.
As it stands, County Administrator Kathryn Schauf's recommended budget is balanced at $140.7 million, meaning that revenues match the projected annual expenditures for all operations and capital.
At its committee meeting Monday, the finance committee discussed decreasing bonding and the debt service levy for 2023.
Eau Claire County is projected to end 2022 with outstanding debt totaling $96.97 million, with no additional debt issues anticipated for 2022. The projected debt service levy for 2023 will be $15.1 million, an increase of $500,000 (3.20%) from $14.6 million in 2022.
"While the County has the borrowing capacity under Wisconsin Statutes and County code to incur considerably more debt, the resulting increasing debt service payments are becoming a concern," the budget recommendation states. "The Finance and Budget Committee will be developing a 10-year debt management strategy to reduce debt issues year-over-year and provide guidance on what should be financed by debt."
As projected, the county's debt service levy in 2023 is projected to be 36.4%, exceeding the county's debt management limit of 30%. A $30 million additional debt increase is due to the investment of the new highway facility.
In an attempt to relieve the debt burden, Supervisor John Folstad presented the committee with several amendments to remove bonding request the recommended budget.
The committee approved an amendment that would move $1.9 million of general government from bonding to American Rescue Plan funding.
The committee also approved amendments to move $1.2 million of Culture and Recreation to be removed from bonding and eliminate bonding $458,300 of Conservation and Economic Development funds and move both to be considered for ARPA funding.
Supervisor Robin Leary did not approve the delegation of capital projects for ARPA consideration and voted no on the amendments
"It would be wonderful if we had a enough money not to be able bond, but frankly I don't think we do," Leary said. "If we continue with these amendments eventually the possibility is lined up for a budget that would have to cut a lot of services, a probably some staff and things are not going to be done in the way we have become accustomed."
Leary also presented the committee with an amendment creating four patrol deputy positions and a jail lieutenant in the county's Sheriff's Department. Funding for these positions could potentially come from the county's general fund.
Other amendments for consideration
* Eliminating 4.5 new FTE in Department Human Services Crisis Program
* Eliminating FTE positions in DHS so there is a levy net savings of $250,000
* Eliminating DHS contracted services totaling $110,000 in expenditure savings
* Eliminating the creation of a culture and relationships coordinator and using the $95,300 in the facilities department to fund an $86,000 circuit court door lock project
* Installing a cyber security specialist with a fiscal impact of $114,154
The committee's amendments to the recommended budget will be presented to the board at this evening's County Board meeting for consideration.
Budget highlights without amendments
Excluding the amendments, the recommended budget features a decline in the overall levy rate from $3.97 to $3.69. The tax levy has two components, operating and debt, and supplies an average of 40% of local government revenue across the state.
The 2023 tax levy is projected to be below the state average of $3.80/$1,000.
The administrator's recommended budget also sees a significant decrease in operations and capital expenditures from 2022-2023. This decrease is a result of the additional spending for ARPA and the new Highway facilities in 2022.
County sales tax revenues are budgeted at $12.1 million for 2023.
32.37% of the total expenditures are contributed to the cost of wages and benefits, with the county recommending 635 full-time equivalents for 2023.
Members of the public are encouraged to attend and provide their input on the proposed budget at tonight's meeting during a public hearing as well as Tuesday, Nov. 1.
The final budget is scheduled for final approval at the Nov. 1 County Board meeting, with the potential for a second night of deliberation on Nov. 2 if needed.
Additional budget information, including the administrator's full recommendation, can be found on the county website.
