The county finance director presented the monthly financial report and an ARPA update at the Nov. 13 meeting, noting large October claims and outstanding obligations.

The director said October claims were high largely because of a state education tax payment of about $2,212,400; total claims listed for October were presented as $15,000,005.95 in the packet. Excluding the state tax pass-through, operating expenditures were within normal ranges. Commissioners approved the claims by voice vote.

The director also described November budget adjustments of approximately $200,000, largely to align specialty-court funds with new grant award amounts received from the state. He briefed the board on pension funding metrics (the county is in the about-70% funded range for its retirement plan) and explained the actuarial and MERS processes.

On ARPA, the finance director reported obligations to partners including a youth center, Comcast and MEC, and stated the packet shows the county received approximately $4,700,000, has recorded approximately $12,500,000 in spending allocations and reports an unspent balance of about $2,145,000 (figures as presented in the materials). Staff said they will continue to monitor contract obligations and reporting deadlines.

The board accepted the monthly financial statements, approved the budget adjustments, and directed staff to continue quarterly ARPA monitoring.