ESCANABA — Today, the Delta County Board will discuss elimination plans and resolutions surrounding fund deficits as identified in Delta County’s FY 2024 audit.

The regular meeting will be held at 5:15 p.m. in the boardroom at the Delta County Service Center, 2920 College Ave.

The Michigan Department of Treasury received Delta County’s FY 2024 audit, which identified multiple funds that were closed in a deficit: Road Patrol, Community Action, Sanitary Landfill and Drug Enforcement.

According to the board’s agenda, a deficit elimination plan for all funds and a certified resolution are mandated to be submitted to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

The Delta County Deficit Elimination Plan for FY 2024 details the amounts in which each fund is in a deficit and fund-specific strategies to eliminate each deficit.

The deficit amounts include the Road Patrol fund at a $164,698 deficit; Community Action, $855; Sanitary Landfill, $321; and Drug Enforcement, $33,716.

The reported cause of the Road Patrol fund’s deficit is increased personnel costs, including overtime and benefits, and delayed reimbursement from state/federal grants. A one-time transfer of $164,698 from the county’s general fund is scheduled for FY 2025 to balance the deficit.

An action plan was also created for Road Patrol revenue enhancement, detailing the county’s plans to implement a stricter reimbursement tracking system on all grants to ensure all grant eligible hours or expenditures are billed within 30 days of the month’s end or the quarterly reporting requirements.

Additionally, staff levels of the Road Patrol will be reviewed, and non-essential overtime will be limited.

The board agenda also states the county “intends to eliminate all fund deficits by the end of FY 2025 closeout (March 31, 2026),” which has since passed.

In other business, the board will:

– Review the Equalization Department’s request to update and continue service agreements with all townships in Delta County. The agreement is recommended for a five-year term with an updated Appendix A Price List.

– Consider approval of out of county travel reimbursement for Delta County commissioners attending Upper Peninsula Commission For Area Progress’ (UPCAP) Spring 2026 Upper Peninsula Association of County Commissioners Conference on May 14 and 15 at the Island Resort and Casino.

– Review five open positions on the Opioid Task Force’s board, including Youth and Family Service Provider, Healthcare Community, Mental Health Provider, Treatment Provider and Non-Profit and Community Groups.

– Discuss the Finance Committee’s observations in their review of budget trends and projections. According to the agenda item, there have been “hardships that have been created” due to the county’s statutory Operating Millage, which was created in 1976 with no further updates. The board will further discuss whether Delta County voters should be asked to approve removing the Rollback and placing the millage back to its originally approved rate. This would mean an increase of .4696 mills ($.4696 per $1,000 of taxable value).

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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.