Agenda Item Request:
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Transfer FY25 fund balance to the strategic planning reserve account
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Background and Purpose of Request:
As of Friday, staff have not heard from the auditors on the outcomes of the most recent audit. This memo serves as a placeholder on Monday's agenda. Staff will present an amended memo on Monday for Commissioner review.
The FY25 budget ended June 30, 2025. Now two+ months into the new budget, staff has learned of the 2024-2025-year end financial position from the auditors. The audited final expenditure and revenue lines show positive signs, allowing staff to explore transferring some of these funds into a reserve account in order to take care of capital and expenditure items that were not able to be funded in the 2025 budget.
The County received word this week from the auditors that the 20% unassigned fund balance has been obtained and adding any fund balance from 2024-2025 would exceed the cap. Staff brings forth a need to gain capacity in contingency accounts for legal, rents, union contracts and uncompensated absences, while also funding a number of projects that were slated for current and future budgets, but removed due to impacts to the tax rate. They are now proposed to be funded through the 2024/2025 fund balance.
In addition, four union contracts were negotiated this past year, of which, three have been settled. Those contracts exceeded the budgeted increases and also extended into the new budget year, requiring backpay.
The County has had a long-standing Strategic Planning Reserve, which has allowed projects throughout the year to be funded that were not considered in that year's general fund allocation. This fund has dwindled and there is a need to add funding capacity. I request the Commissioners consider transferring $XXXX of the FY25 year-end fund balance to the Strategic Planning Reserve to cover the following items.
The funding would be set aside in the Reserve, allowing the following projects to receiv...
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