$20 million ‘unassigned’

THIS ARTICLE IS COMMENTARY AND PUBLISHED IN OUR EDITORIAL SECTION.

Gone are the days of taking out bridge loans to make payroll

By Randy Arrington, publisher

Two decades ago, when battles over the Battle Creek Landfill were draining county coffers like a sieve through a poorly designed operator’s contract and mounting fees from consultants… Page County had to borrow money to make payroll. Bridge loans, or General Obligation Bonds (GOBs), made on anticipated revenue were almost routine to just to get through the year, or maybe the month.

Today, the county has a fund balance of $25 million, with $20 million “unassigned” in reserve.

Monday night’s work session of the Page County Board of Supervisors started off with a positive audit report from James Kelly of Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates. The FY24 county audit showed Page with cash holdings of $26 million, collecting nearly $3 million more than budgeted this year across all property taxes. Due to costs associated with the completion of the regional broad band project, expenditures exceeded revenues collected within the fiscal year by $5.3 million. However, funds to cover those costs had already been earmarked in reserve under capital projects. According to Tom Innes of All Points Broadband, Page County customers could see the additional fiber optic broadband service “turned on” in the third quarter of 2025.

Property tax revenue across the board has increased every year over the past five years. All property taxes combined came in $2.7 million higher than projected in FY24. With more than $27 million in levies, $25.5 million was collected during the last fiscal cycle. The collection rate of 94 percent is consistent with previous years. That collection rate is only for the 12-month period — those taxes will continue to be collected over the coming months and years.

In January of 2023, PVN reported that the supervisors “received a positive audit report that showed the county’s fund balance has increased by $13 million over the past five years. Page’s general fund balance grew from $9.4 million to $22.5 million, an increase of about 140 percent.” This year the fund balance grew again to $25 million.

The FY24 audit also showed the county with $68 million in outstanding debt, a decrease of $4 million from last year, according to Kelly. At the same time, the county’s unassigned reserve has reached 44 percent in excess of annual budgeted expenses. Mandates of the county’s budgeting process only require a reserve of 15 percent above annual expenses. Last year that figure reached 53 percent, but dropped slightly this year due to the deficit in FY24. If transfers for capital projects are included, the reserve ratio drops to 39 percent, which is still more than double the mandated amount.

Many factors have played into the growing positive financial trend, from the rise in real estate sales to the increased value of used vehicles. However, one — the Battle Creek Landfill — has gone from producing revenue of $3 million or more, to a recent trend of growing expenses and falling revenues. Despite that setback, Transient Occupancy Tax revenue keeps growing (with rate increases), along with meals and sales tax, and the current reassessment of property values is likely to generate even more money for the county in 2026. Reassessment wraps up later this year, new home values go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and then the pain of higher taxes — or perhaps an adjustment by supervisors — will be felt on tax bills distributed in June and December of 2026.

The news of solid financial footing that seems to come with each annual county audit in recent years deserves praise from the taxpayers, especially the progress that has been made since the early 2000s. It’s like night and day, and for that, members of recent boards, and the staff that carried them, deserve a great deal of credit. Now the question is, what are they going to do with all those millions they’ve saved up?

That question will be among the long-term planning being discussed in upcoming weeks during budget discussions. There are those who want to build a new jail, some say our schools need major repairs or to be replaced, a plan to build a recreation center was previously presented, some want raises for county staff (especially EMS), and still others simply want a tax break, regardless of who else has to do with less. Tough issues indeed, and at the end of the day, someone walks away unhappy.

That’s the job they were elected for, so we simply encourage our supervisors to continue being good stewards of our tax dollars, plan appropriately for future growth, and don’t overburden our household budgets more than necessary.

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