I want to clarify and correct my interview with Steve Chapman, the editor for the Headliner.
In talking about county government reserves, we began 2026 with $37.875 million ($31.533 restricted use) and if every penny of every budget including emergency funds are spent and we receive only the budgeted revenue amounts, we will begin 2027 with $20.974 million ($17.515 restricted)
Of the $6.342 million unrestricted reserves, we have to fund $1.421 million dollars of court expenses that are almost completely out of our control. This number comes from our County Auditor’s Office.
Mistakenly, I misstated the reserve amounts in 2020. (The amount) was not $300 million. The correct number for reserves in 2026 is $37.875 million with $31.533 million restricted. The reserve balance in 2020 was $18 million dollars, not $300 million.
