Budgeting for County needs getting tougher

Tough conversations about next years budget are happening in the Farmers Room at the County Courthouse.
Commissioners, with the help of each department head, have reduced the gap between what might be necessary next year and available funds from about $2 million to just under $1 million.
Roads, bridges, ambulance services, the Sheriffs Department, and staffing continue to cost a lot and remain priorities. However, expenses for a new Sheriffs Department vehicle, body and car cameras, county health services and their staffing, road maintenance, and bridge repairs, along with competitive raises, are rising faster than income from property taxes.
County Auditor Tawny Heinemann reminded commissioners last month that additional financial help from the past several years, such as ARPA funds through COVID and grants from the Governors Office for Economic Development, is no longer available.
We dont have any of that extra money like we had the last few years; thats done, Heinemann said during a July 2 meeting of the Commission.
Counties are limited to a 3% annual property tax hike, but inflation has been much higher in recent years.
Its just kind of caught up with us, Heinemann added.
A provisional budget was passed at the last meeting in July. Total expenditures are set at $8,411,601, with revenue at $7,412,645, leaving a $998,956 difference.
As the provisional budget stands, we have a decent amount of reserves. You dont want too much because then youre not using revenue as you should, but you also dont want them too low in case something happens, said Heinemann. They have done a really good job making hard decisions the past couple of years.
However, there are concerns about what cuts might look like beyond 2025.
This year, without extra money coming in, commissioners wanted to take a closer look at everyones requests. We dug harder into whats out of the ordinary, why line items are increasing more than 10%, and whether those increases are necessary or if there are extras we could cut. They really weighed what they could take out while still meeting needs, Heinemann said.
Counties across the state and nation are struggling with ongoing inflation. This past year, South Dakota formed a committee to prevent several counties from falling into bankruptcy while providing basic services. There had been 12-15 counties, considered at that time, in dire straits Moody County is not among them. Rural counties, however, are struggling more as they lack the population base to grow revenue.
Commission meetings, unless otherwise noted, are open to the public and are typically held on the first and third Tuesday mornings of each month in the County Courthouse.