WARREN — Trumbull County commissioners are exploring how much of the county’s $14.5 million carryover from 2024 may be used to help prevent budget shortfalls in the 2025 budget without putting the county in fiscal distress.

Commissioners must finalize and pass the county’s budget by April 1.

Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Bill Danso told commissioners at their Tuesday workshop there is approximately $64.5 million approved by the county’s budget commission for the general fund budget. The carryover balance includes money not used in last year’s budget, as well as undivided sales tax carryovers, justice sales tax carryover, casino tax carryovers and the MCO sales tax, which was a one-time amount that will not be replaced.

“It is up to you to determine how much of those reserves should be used,” Danso said. “I would never suggest you should use all of it, because that would put the county in a precarious position. There should be a reserve.”

Danso suggested commissioners look at these reserves to determine whether there is not enough, just the right amount or more than enough in reserve to use that money to shore up the 2025 budget.

“That is something for you guys to consider,” he said.

Danso added there was a deficit in 2024, and the county had to dip into the reserves to address various issues, including providing the sheriff’s office $1.5 million to make its 2024 payroll.

Danso warned the commissioners that the county’s sales taxes may come in lower than projected, so these reserves may be needed to buffer unexpected losses. The carryover balances traditionally have been Trumbull County’s version of a rainy day fund, he said.

“If we were to use a portion of that — even 20% of that amount — then that would prevent any layoffs in the auditor’s office and any layoffs in the clerk of courts office,” Commissioner Denny Malloy said. “We would be able to fund, at least to the levels of where people were last year.”

It took $70 million to operate the county in 2024, according to Human Resources Director Alexandra DeVengencie-Bush.

“That $14 million is not going to go that far,” she said. “God forbid if something goes wrong.”

Malloy said he previously urged no one to jump the gun and start making personnel cuts because commissioners have not finalized the budget.

“We did not turn over every rock,” he said. “This is information that was asked for, but not given to us.”

Auditor Martha Yoder, who did not attend Tuesday’s workshop, said she provided the commissioners this same information during a Jan. 15 meeting.

“We provided the commissioners all of this information,” she said. “It should not have been a surprise. They’ve had the whole package of information since January.”

DeVengencie-Bush said the information provided by Danso has been included in reports provided by Yoder. The auditor has consistently told them some reserve money was available.

“If we don’t have a substantial carryover in reserves and have so many months of operating balances in reserves, we might go into what is called a fiscal distress,” DeVengencie-Bush said. “We have not been able to identify what that number is.”

Trumbull County Commissioner Rick Hernandez suggested the auditor should have attended Tuesday’s workshop to tell the commissioners the amount she believes could be used.

“Where is that sweet spot,” Hernandez said.

Commissioner Tony Bernard said taking up to $1 million from the reserves — as had been done in the past — could make a big difference in stopping layoffs in the county.

DeVengencie-Bush suggested commissioners contact the state’s County Commissioners Association to learn the average reserve amount held by similarly sized counties. Malloy suggested each commissioner could contact four to five counties to determine how much in reserve they typically have.

Yoder previously told commissioners she does not believe the county should use any of the reserve money to balance the budget.

“It is not my decision,” she added. “We reached out to the state auditor, and we were told the reserve should not drop below a certain amount or we would be placed in fiscal watch.”

During the workshop, commissioners removed a resolution placed on today’s agenda that would have required them to vote on allowing the county to pay for the appointment of attorney Jared A. Wagner, who would represent Yoder in any potential lawsuit regarding reductions to her office’s budget.

Malloy noted it is too early to make that determination because the county has not finalized its budget.

Yoder said last week she is taking the preliminary steps to hire an attorney because the budget amount recommended by the commissioners for her office would not only force her to lay off up to five employees, but also, depending on the level of cuts, could render the office unable to provide mandated and critical services.

In the meantime, several county departments have not been able to mail letters and packages because they have been unable to use the county’s mail system, which is operated out of the Trumbull County Clerk of Courts Office.

DeVengencie-Bush said various county offices have been sharing the mailing device with the clerk of courts office. Although each department provides a portion of the operating cost, they were told Friday it was not enough.

The commissioners are expected to have a special meeting at 11 a.m. Friday to discuss the budget. At that meeting, they plan to have a recommendation on how much can be safely taken from the carryover to augment the general fund budget.