St. Croix County Board approves hiring law enforcement using $584,000 from fund balance
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
HUDSON — Following the failed referendum in April for funding more law enforcement positions, the St. Croix County Board has approved hiring four deputies, a CHIPS attorney and an investigator using general fund money to pay for the positions in 2023.
The resolution for using $584,000 in fund balance for hiring the positions this year is a compromise and needs a budget source moving forward, said Carah Koch, county board supervisor from Hudson at the May 2 meeting of the St. Croix County Board.
Koch is the chair of the Administration Committee and said the committee had unanimously approved bringing the resolution to the full county board.
Ryan Sherley, St. Croix County Board supervisor representing part of the City of New Richmond, brought the proposal for using fund balance to pay for the new positions to the Committee of the Whole, and the proposal was then forwarded to the Administration Committee, Koch said.
The referendum that failed in April asked voters to approve exceeding the property tax levy limit by $3.5 million every year to pay for eight additional sheriff’s deputies; four more corrections deputies; three new investigators; two pre-trial case managers; two support staff; two deputy clerks in the Clerk of Courts office; one Child in Need of Protective Services (CHIPS) attorney; and two mental health co-responders.
Among 28,993 total votes, there were 17,018 who voted “no” on the question (59 percent), and 10,784 who voted “yes” (37 percent).
Amendment
Paul Berning, county board supervisor from Hudson, made an amendment to remove the clause “Be it further resolved that the County Administrator shall include the four patrol deputies in the 2024 budget with the fund balance covering the cost of the positions.”
The county does not fund any other personnel with fund balance, and striking the clause will show that the county board is committed to making law enforcement a priority and intends to add the positions to the 2024 budget, he said, asking for the opinion of St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson.
Sustainability of funding for positions is important, Sheriff Knudson said.
The resolution also includes going back to the voters in 2025, said Cathy Leaf, county board supervisor representing the Town of Hudson and the Village of North Hudson.
Leaf said she had a concern about funding the positions with fund balance, with no other funding source going forward, and creating a structural deficit in the county’s budget.
Rick Ottino, county board supervisor representing the Town of Hudson, said he was “2000 percent” in favor of all the positions added, that another referendum should be held in 2025, and that positions should be put in the budget on a continuing basis without taking money from other departments.
Mark Carlson, county board supervisor from Hammond, said that from the feedback he had received, voters believed the law enforcement positions should be put into the budget and not funded by exceeding the levy limit.
Referring to a referendum question in 2025, “I believe it would fail like the last one did,” he said.
As for one-time funding for positions, the county funds one-time positions with grant money, and when the funding is gone, the position is eliminated unless the positions are put in the budget, Koch said.
The voters will have another opportunity in 2025. No one really knows why the referendum failed because every voter in St. Croix County has not been polled, she said.
Sherley said he agreed with the amendment because the sheriff has to recruit to fill positions, and if the positions are not guaranteed beyond 2024, it will be difficult to find applicants.
The amendment to remove “Be it further resolved that the County Administrator shall include the four patrol deputies in the 2024 budget with the fund balance covering the cost of the positions” was approved on a vote of 10 “yes” to eight “no.”
CHIPS
The original resolution included only the four patrol deputies.
Sherley proposed an amendment to add the CHIPS attorney and the investigator.
Ken Witt, county administrator, said adding the two positions would add $120,000 to the amount needed from the fund balance to pay for the positions over the remainder of 2023.
The original resolution for the deputies and the additional squad vehicles would have been at a cost of $464,000 from the general fund balance.
Leaf asked about the amount that would be needed from the fund balance in 2024.
The CHIPS attorney and the investigator are at the top of the list of budget priorities for 2024 and most likely will be included in the 2024 budget, Witt said.
Bob Long, county board supervisor from Hudson and chair of the St. Croix County Board, asked about Witt’s comfort level with using fund balance for the positions.
The use of fund balance is established by the county board, Witt said.
There are three reasons to use fund balance: for capital improvements to avoid borrowing; to apply to debt service to reduce the property tax levy; and to cover one-time expenses, he said.
The extra positions would be one-time expenses that presumably will be covered by another funding source in the 2024 budget, Witt said.
Dan Hanson, county board supervisor representing part of the City of New Richmond, asked about the effect of a structural deficit on the county’s bond rating.
The credit rating agency considers the fund balance, but the resolution would create a nominal structural deficit that probably would not affect the county’s credit rating, Witt said.
The amendment to add the CHIPS attorney and the investigator to the resolution passed on a vote of 17 “yes” to one “no,” with Koch voting no on the amendment.
Resolution
Tim Ramberg, county board supervisor from Hudson, said that with his financial background, he was uncomfortable with the thought process of using fund balance to pay for new positions.
“I do not want us eating our seed corn,” he said.
The resolution, however, is a compromise, Ramberg said, adding that he appreciated the compromise.
What about taking 2024 out of the resolution? Leaf asked.
The county board cannot commit to a future budget when the 2024 budget has not yet been presented to the county board, Berning said.
The resolution represents instructions to the county administration, said Heather Amos, corporation counsel.
If $584,000 in fund balance is used this year, that will be another $584,000 that will have to added to the budget in 2024, Koch said.
The amount for the 2024 budget would be $529,000 because there will be a different funding source for the CHIPS attorney, Witt said.
Approval of the resolution required a two-thirds majority vote.
The St. Croix County Board approved the resolution to hire four patrol deputies, a CHIPS attorney and one investigator at a cost of $584,000, paid for with fund balance in 2023, on a vote of 17 “yes” to one “no,” with Koch voting no on the resolution.
