Budget Process, Where the Heck are We?!
By:
Katy Flint
Franklin County Auditor
what has happened thus far and what must happen yet.
Just a reminder that we started our budget process back in December. The department heads
began their work back then to develop operating budgets. When we refer to operating budgets, we are
talking about all our expenses outside of wages & benefits. The Supervisors once again (for the second or
third year in a row) challenged the department heads to keep their operating budgets under a 2% increase.
So, how did we do?! I’m happy to report that out of the 20 departments, only one did not make it under
that cap and it was not their fault, but a result of inflation on a service mandated by Iowa Code. 8
departments came in with their operating budgets between 0 and a 2% increase while the other 11
departments had a negative (or a decrease) to their operating budget.
Now, I do want to make it clear that this DOES NOT mean our departments are operating with a
lot of fluff to their budgets, because simply put, we aren’t! A decrease in a budget can be the result of
several things like the elimination of a position, a project that was completed, or in my case one election
in a year versus two!
The next step was for the department heads to meet with the Supervisors to discuss their proposed
budgets. Because our departments already run leanly a lot of the conversations surrounded special
projects or purchases that may be coming up in the future so the Supervisors can plan accordingly. Next
came a meeting with our health insurance broker to learn about our premium increase. For FY2027, we
are facing a premium increase of 6%. However, we work with an exceptional broker who was able to
provide us an alternative plan, which doesn’t change much for the employees but will save the county
money! And once we know the health insurance numbers, it’s time for probably the hardest
conversation….wage increases. There is a balance of knowing our residents pay our wages through
property taxes, but also rewarding and retaining employees to provide the services we all utilize. These
conversations happened this past week.
Now, the department heads are going back and putting the finishing touches on their budgets to
turn back into me. Next week I will be collecting them and updating the “master” budget and finalizing
ending fund balances….at least for now. Once that is done the Supervisors will start the conversation of
taking out projects, adding them in, spending down fund balances, deciding what our supplemental levy
rates will be, and more. By the end of this month, we will have the budget finalized and ready to be
submitted for the estimator mailers that will go out mid-March.
The budget process is a lengthy one, but one that we all take very seriously and spend a lot of
hours on. I also happen to geek out at creating spreadsheets for the Supervisors to see all the information
in different ways, so if you ever have questions, do not hesitate to call, email, or stop by my office! I’m
happy to discuss it and answer your questions. Until next time…
Category:
Hampton Chronicle
1509 4th St NE
Hampton, IA 50441
Phone: 641-456-5656
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