Finney County Commission to hear budget requests Monday
Garden City Telegram
Organizations from outside the county government will present budget requests for 2022 to the Finney County Commission on Monday.
Many of the organizations present budget requests to the County Commission annually.
Robert Reece, Finney County Administrator, said the county is required by statutes to fund many of the organizations as they provide services they are required to fund within the county-wide community, but it s up to the Board of County Commissioners to establish that level of funding. It also gives the Commission an opportunity to review the service impact that they ve have to our community, the number of clienteles and so on and so forth, he said. In essence then makes sure that we are to the best of our ability trying to provide some needed services to those individuals that request those services.
Garden City Commission declares financial emergency
The Garden City Commission declared a financial emergency at its regular meeting Tuesday.
Melinda Hitz, Garden City finance director, said the cash balance of the electric fund is low, sitting around $100,000, when typically the balance is between $4 million and $5 million.
There is a reserve fund that has a little over $4 million, but the operating fund is concerning, Hitz said.
Mike Muirhead, Public Utilities director, said the fund is low for several reasons.
First, retail and commercial sales are down approximately $1.75 million from projected utility costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Second, there were two planned events: an asset purchase agreement and a terminated contract.