Commissioners rebalance MVH and wheel-tax lines after Baker Tilly review

Auditors and county staff walked commissioners through detailed line-item fixes in the Motor Vehicle Highway (MVH, 1176) and wheel-tax (low-HUD) budgets after Baker Tilly's worksheets identified items that cannot be paid from restricted wheel-tax receipts. Staff proposed zeroing some lines (office supplies, utilities) in the wheel-tax account and restoring general road‑repair and professional services lines to MVH.

Commissioners agreed to specific numeric adjustments: restoring general road repair to approximately $1.6 million and setting professional services to $60,000 to cover PACER ratings. They also trimmed office-supplies and adjusted fuel and garage-supplies estimates to align with year‑to‑date use. Staff warned that, even after those changes, MVH remained roughly $300,000 over budget in the long-term forecast and recommended an additional re-evaluation once anticipated state reimbursements hit the books.

Why it matters: Reassigning allowable and non-allowable expenditures affects reserves and advertised budgets. Staff and commissioners flagged the need to remain underadvertised and agreed to cut a large line (gas/oil) by $50,000 to meet advertising constraints while planning for potential additional appropriations when reimbursements arrive.