Finance committee approves transfers totaling $1.517 million to shore up funds and finance ambulance purchase

The Sawyer County finance committee voted to adopt a resolution reallocating year-end surpluses and assigning fund balances to cover department needs and planned purchases.

Finance representative Liz told the committee that the package would assign a $142,371.22 sales-tax surplus to an assigned fund-balance account and move $74,921.75 from ambulance surplus toward the purchase of a new ambulance; the plan also includes transfers of $50,000 to the highway fund, $790,000 to Health and Human Services and $460,000 to the sheriff’s surplus. "And so basically it's assigning the sales tax to assigned fund balance, dollars 142,371.22," Liz said while reading the resolution.

Liz said the ambulance transfer would reduce the county's borrowing need for that capital purchase and noted the sheriff had applied for an equipment grant that would require a county cash match. She said the grant award had not yet been received but was anticipated in April; the county would set aside the cash match if the grant is awarded.

The Chair recorded the motion to adopt the resolution as made by Tom Duffy and seconded by Jeff Haney; the committee approved the motion by voice vote. The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about the highway fund and fund-balance accounting. Liz said the $50,000 transfer to highway will help move the fund's unassigned balance into positive territory without selling equipment. A committee member noted the fund balance looks positive because of equipment value, but Liz emphasized the transfer would improve unassigned cash metrics.

The resolution directs the finance department to assign the listed surpluses and make the transfers; the transcript records no additional conditions or amendments. The committee set its next meeting for May 14 at 8:30 a.m.