The Sunflower County Board of Supervisors devoted part of its Monday meeting to a budget debate after officials confirmed the county road department is running a deficit despite strong overall revenues.
The four-hour meeting at the Sunflower County Courthouse included an 18-minute discussion on the road department’s finances.
County Comptroller Michelle Davis reported July revenues at $2.7 million and expenditures at $2.49 million, leaving the county with a healthy bank balance of nearly $14.8 million.
Yet portions of the budget, particularly funds for road maintenance, are running in the red, something noted by Board President Gloria Dickerson.
She quickly pressed Davis on why.
“So, you know, I’m going to ask this question,” Dickerson said. “We’re negative around the road. Explain that.”
Davis told supervisors the shortfall stemmed from adjustments made during an audit, which placed the road department unexpectedly in deficit. She recommended amending the budget to move money forward into the department’s account.
District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald cautioned that without immediate action, the county might even struggle to cover payroll for road employees.
“Until she moves some money,” he said of Davis, “you won’t be able to make payroll because you will be in a deficit. You can’t use tax money for salaries.”
Davis said that even with revenues from the state’s gas and use taxes, now totaling over $1.9 million, the road department would likely remain about $400,000 short.
District 2 Supervisor Riley Rice questioned why shortfalls have become a recurring issue.
“I want to know why we’re having those shortages,” Rice said. “We budget all this money for salaries and trucks, and we neglect to put enough money to fix our roads. Our constituents are calling about bad roads, and I can’t just tell them we don’t have any money.”
Donald noted that some of the strain comes from equipment needs. He argued that purchasing new machinery was necessary to repair roadwork that had been left unfinished or required re-doing.
“No one’s saying roads don’t need fixing,” Dickerson said. “But unless you’ve got good, qualified people and the machinery to do the work, putting more money into material isn’t going to help.”
The board ultimately approved an interfund loan of $400,000 from the bridge fund to the road department to cover payroll through the end of the year, with the understanding that future tax settlements would repay it by December 31. The motion was made by Donald, seconded by Rice, and passed unanimously.
