The 2024 fiscal year budget for Webster County is balanced, according to county Auditor Doreen Pliner.

Pliner provided the Board of Supervisors with the 2024 fiscal year financial report at the Nov. 19 meeting. Fiscal year 2026 budget presentations begin today for Webster County department heads.

“Balanced means you are not spending more than what you have on hand or budgeted for,” said Pliner.

According to the financial report, $8,088,750 came in unspent from fiscal year 2023, including $7,411,684 from capital projects. These funds were received in the previous year and not expended until the following year.

The general funds for the radio tower built in the southern part of the county in the amount of $489,736 also came in from fiscal year 2023. These had been budgeted for 2023 but were not spent. Special revenue funds had $243,615 for rural basic secondary roads as well as others from the previous year which were not spent.

Pliner noted that there was also a positive amount of $56,285 in the debt services account.

“Basically all of these funds were still there,” said Pliner. “Think of it as a checking account. At the end of the year you do not start at $0. You carry over your funds.”

The county’s fiscal year 2024 financial report, which will be audited, includes roughly $70 million in expenses — $53,481,736 in total expenditures and $17,402,634 in total operating transfers out — and $62 million in revenues.

Remaining revenues that will transfer into the next year include $30,561,401.

“None of these ending fund balances were negative,” said Pliner. “This is the left-over revenue for the next year. Since taxes do not come in until September, we always try to maintain a three-month balance in our general and rural funds.”

“Obviously you have to have a balanced budget per Iowa code,” added Webster County Supervisor Mark Campbell. “It’s the road map as to how you’ll be using tax dollars in the best possible ways. We have reserves and we collaborate with the department heads so that we’re making the best decisions and leveraging what’s available for the best possible uses.”

In 2022, the Iowa legislature passed House File 718, a bill which focused on local government property taxes, financial authority, operations and budget reform. This bill, according to Pliner, plays a large role in the budgetary process for each fiscal year.

“This limits the amount of money that can be collected each year,” said Pliner. “For example, last year our valuations went up 4.2 percent. Their new formula lowered our increase to 2.5 percent. With the high cost of living last year and still increasing this year, it makes it very difficult to maintain our services. This year the legislature added homestead credits and military credits to people that were qualified and signed up. These will take another big hit on our valuations. The only thing we really have any control over is our employees. Last year we had several people retire and they were not replaced. This may continue over time until the budget gets better aligned.”

The supervisors and auditor are currently entering budget discussions for the 2025 fiscal year with department heads for the county treasurer, auditor, supervisors, planning and zoning, environmental health, recorder, human resources, veterans affairs, and attorney’s office — all presenting their budgetary requests today. The public health department, conservation, sheriff’s office, engineering, and E911 will all present their budgets on Wednesday.

“We go through each budget with the department heads,” said Campbell. “Sometimes there are changes and questions and multiple meetings. It’s an educational process for us and the department heads many times. We want to be as transparent as possible. Some budgets have a lot of line items in them and some only have a few. It’s all about the details, and we work to utilize every dollar in the best way possible.”

According to Pliner, for the incoming fiscal year, each department was asked to leave everything the same so it can be determined if the county will be sustainable with no increase in revenues. Many departments receive high dollar grants, so this can make the process difficult.

“Once these (presentations) are done, then they can look at it again after the first of the year when valuations are completed,” said Pliner.

“These are long-term plans and budgets,” added Campbell. “We’re working with department heads to plan how we can best use every dollar and do so with plans five years and more down the road.”