Clay County Commission 

Dan Haglund 

The Clay County Social Services budget levy ask is for a 2.55 percent increase for next year.

County Social Services director Quinn Jaeger laid out the numbers for the Board of Commissioners in their regular weekly meeting on Tuesday in Moorhead.

Jaeger first went over his 2024 budget, which was more than $28 million. The expenditures outpaced the revenues by $95,529, which represents a 0.17 percent budget deficit.

“With a budget that size, I felt it was a pretty accurate,” Jaeger said.

Jaeger said his department did see some savings in employee salaries, with a budget of $14.56 million and outlays of $14.46 million. He said the savings came by way of retirements, vacancies, staff transitions and targeted funding.

In administrative costs, Jaeger’s department came in at 97 percent of what was budgeted ($1.578 million projected, $1.543 million spent). He said that the 2025 year-to-date expenses for this area are closer to the target than the previous year. The projected increase for 2026 is just $41,000 more than this year.

The out-of-home placement expenditures (just under $4 million) have remained fairly static in the last decade, but the revenues (about $700,000 mainly through Title 4E reimbursements) dropped last year to the lowest level during that period. Revenues have typically ranged between $1 million and $1.4 million.

The net effect on the local tax levy (about $3.2 million) to make up for this shortfall saw the biggest share last year as a result.

Jaeger said the biggest driving factor here is the Families First Preservation Services Act, under which Minnesota counties can only claim 50 percent of federal reimbursement for placement costs at certain facilities – and only if the facility is qualified under federal guidelines. Jaeger said West Central Regional Juvenile Center in Moorhead is not yet federally certified, yet may gain that designation in the near future.

So, in essence, Clay County has to pay 100 percent of the costs at the WCRJC. Even so, numerous bordering counties have infused revenue into this facility by utilizing it for troubled youths outside the area.

In the civil commitment-related services, Jaeger outlined that the county was about $80,000 over budget in 2024, but that with court-ordered commitments which can cost more than $2,000 per day per person, the annual expenditures can swing liberally depending on court decisions. Some of these cases include sex offender commitments.

The budget for this area was $680,000 and the expenditures were $761,346.

“These are statutorily mandated, high-cost services often with long stays and expensive daily rates,” Jaeger said.

With regard to cost overruns, again the unpredictability of court orders play a major factor in some areas. The most significant in 2024 was for the detox center, which was $153,043 in the red, or about 10 percent over budget. Another area (interpreter) was budgeted for $1,000, yet $18,000 was spent for just one family, Jaeger said.

Commissioner Kevin Campbell, Dist. 4, inquired about the detox center and its projections moving forward.

“Detox is a pretty significant and growing cost within Social Services budget,” Jaeger said. “Really attributing to our new Withdrawal Management facility and increased capacity and need for staffing.”

Jaeger said Public Health will project costs to Social Services for detox each year, and those projections are plugged into the budget. This year the projection was $1.5 million (with a $153,043 overrun) and next year it will be $1,990,015, a 32 percent increase.

Jaeger said the real challenges come in with what amounts gets reimbursed and what usage will be.

The tax levy request for 2025 was $14,982,224, and next year it rises to $15,733,925, an increase of $751,701. This total will be offset by a $350,000 fund balance from this year, bringing the year-over-year increase to $401,701, a hike of 2.55 percent.

“The increase is really primarily due to mandated costs, increasing revenue shifts and program demands,” Jaeger said.

Jaeger did make one addition to the budget request, and that is for a disability case manager. Demand is up, and projected revenues generated from this position outpace the cost/salary ($90,000+) by nearly $5,000.