Taxpayers won’t be asked to pay back extra money this year

By Trisha Marczak (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, June 21, 2008

After discussing a possible operating levy with the the county’s eight school districts, including the Fergus Falls School Board, the Otter Tail Family Services Collaborative has said that taxpayers will not be asked — this year — to cover the extra $74,982 it received from the state in 2004.

And although the collaborative will not request further action from the Fergus Falls School Board, the collaborative would accept funds generated from an operating levy within the next two years if approved by the school board.

“Then we’d still have dollars to use for our children and family programs,” said Maryjane Westra, executive director of the Permanent Family Resource Center and member of the collaborative’s CEO group.

The Minnesota DHS used an incorrect formula in 2004 to issue Local Collaborative Time Studies Funds (LCTSF) to county collaborative throughout the state. A federal audit revealed that an extra $9.7 million worth of LCTSFs was distributed to 32 Minnesota counties.

The federal government audited the 60 largest schools in the state, which the state used to calculate repayment amounts for each county.

Fergus Falls School District was the only district audited in Otter Tail County. Based on dollars received in 2004, the state determined that Otter Tail County is responsible for $74,982.

The collaborative initially agreed to pay back the $74,982 over the course of three years. But state legislation passed during the 2008 session authorizing school districts — that benefited from the funding — to levy a property tax to make up for the collaborative’s calculated loss gave the collaborative another option.

The collaborative discussed a possible levy plan with the Fergus Falls School Board.

Because all eight of the county’s school districts benefited from the 2004 dollars, the board requested that John Dinsmore, director of Otter Tail County Human Services, approach the other seven school districts to discuss a possible county-wide repayment plan.

In an e-mail sent out to superintendents of the seven other school districts, Dinsmore requested feedback for a county-wide district-shared levy.

Because of budget cuts and declining enrollment, school districts around the county did not feel they were financially equipped to take on the payback, said John Dinsmore, director of human services for Otter Tail County.

And although taxpayers will not be making up for the miscalculation this year, it doesn’t mean they won’t be affected. The collaborative offers programs geared towards children and young families around the county. With a 90 percent decrease in federal funding this past year, and the $74,982 repayment, the collaborative has no choice but to eliminate programs, Westra said.

The school-based Mental Health Program is set to end on December 31, 2008. The collaborative’s Caring Connections Home Visiting Program for families will experience a 40 percent reduction in funding for 2008-09. The Parent Support Outreach Program is set for a 47 percent reduction. All together, the collaborative will see a 53 percent overall reduction in programs.

Legal wording in the collaborative’s agreement with the state does say that in the case of a miscalculation in payments, the county —not the state — is responsible for payback, regardless of the tier of government where the mistake was made.

“Legally, the counties are responsible for paying it back,” Dinsmore said.

The school district levy plan would have generated revenue to balance the $74,982 taken out of the collaborative’s budget.

The payback comes at a tough time for the collaborative and school districts, but collaborative coordinator Jane Patrick said it’s important to remember that schools and residents did benefit from the extra dollars.

“It was not wasted money, it was good money spent,” Patrick said.

The collaborative does not plan on requesting further action from the Fergus Falls School Board, but if school board members decide to consider the levy by an August CEO group meeting, the collaborative and the school board would discuss plans for a possible property levy, beginning in 2010.

The collaborative offers truancy, immunization, drug abuse prevention and mental health programs within the Fergus Falls School District.