Q&A: Finance director talks budget and close out of fiscal year

Editor’s note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with local officials. Troy Hall is the finance director for Curry County.

Q: How long have you worked with the county?

A: I have worked for the county for 8 years. I was given the opportunity to internship with the County Finance Department my senior year of college and have been fortunate to climb the ladder within the county and have been the finance director for over two years now.

I am very grateful to the county for giving a young college student from Eastern New Mexico University the opportunity to start and grow my professional career.

Q: How are you gearing up for the budget and closing out of the fiscal year?

A: As we approach the year’s end, our department heads and elected officials are encouraged to encumber and close out projects to not roll projects into the next fiscal year. Our budget is a two step process separated into a preliminary and final budget and is a collaborative effort between county elected officials, department heads and those responsible for purchasing on behalf of the county.

Each department is given their department’s budget sheet which includes historical data to include their actual expenditures for the prior three fiscal years, their current budget and expenditures for the current year through February. Each department head provides the county manager their recommendations for the operational needs in the next fiscal year.

A memorandum of justification is required for any new requested positions, capital outlay expenditures or other increases over the current budget. Those increases are presented to our Board of Commissioners during public budget hearings. Once all budget sheets are received, the county manager and I review for accuracy and provide necessary cuts and revisions to balance the budget and project revenue based on local economic factors impacting Gross Receipts Tax and other revenue sources.

Our budget is required to be submitted to the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) for their approval. The preliminary budget is due to DFA by June 1st which the County operates on for July and August. The final budget is due to DFA July 31st and is approved and effective September of each year.

Q: How big is the budget you manage for Curry County?

A: The county operational budget for fiscal year 2024 is $54 million.

Q: What does the purchasing process look like?

A: The county follows the State Procurement Code and county policy regarding its purchasing process. Depending on the dollar amount of the expenditure, the county either obtains the best obtainable price, obtains written quotes or issues a formal Request for Proposal or Invitation to Bid.

The county prides itself on providing for the fair and equitable treatment of all persons involved in public procurement, to maximize the purchasing value of public funds and to provide safeguards for maintaining a procurement system of quality and integrity.

The county utilizes a third-party vendor software to manage its county vendor list. Should any contractor be interested in working with the county, they are encouraged to reach out to myself or our Purchasing Agent, Melynda Crouch at 575-763-6016 to obtain information on registering their business as a vendor with the county.

Anytime a solicitation is issued that is applicable to their business, they will be provided the solicitation automatically.

Q: How do you determine what company gets awarded the request for proposal (RFP)? Who gets to decide that?

A: When the county issues a formal solicitation, they either issue an Invitation to Bid or Request for Proposal. During a formal Invitation to Bid, potential bidders are required to submit formal bid responses that are opened in a public setting. The award is made to the lowest cost bidder so long as all requirements of the Invitation to Bid have been met and they are deemed responsive.

For the Request for Proposal process, the county issues a formal solicitation outlining the requested scope of work. Contractors submit sealed proposals in response that are scored by a set criteria formulated by the county which is to obtain the best value rather than award based on lowest cost.

An evaluation committee of three to five qualified evaluators is formed to review and score proposals to the set criteria and provide a recommendation to the commission for award of the contractor whose proposal most accurately meets the requirements of the county.

Q: What are some of the challenges you face everyday?

A: Curry County oversees many departments and operations. Based on the current economic conditions and the needs of the residents of the county, we are challenged with making the hard financial decisions to fund projects and initiatives that benefit the majority of our constituents. Our biggest challenge is finding and retaining qualified staff as they are instrumental in moving projects forward and continuing to grow our operations.

Q: How do you lead those in your department to ensure success for the county?

A: The Finance Department is a department that works for and assists other operations within the county. We are entrusted with public dollars and it is our duty to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Our operations not only ensure we are spending funds efficiently and appropriately, but we can make a true difference and make our community a better place.

I have an open door policy for my staff to communicate any concerns and encourage them to bring any suggestions to improve our practices as they are the true backbone of the county.

We see the fruits of their hard work by all the achievements we have received and projects that have been successful. The County Finance Department is honored to have recently received the fiscal year 2022 Mid-Size County Audit Achievement.

Q: From a financial perspective, what are some of the strengths the county has? What about weaknesses that you like to improve?

A: The county has a great management team that is very cognizant of their budget and constantly looks for ways to become more efficient and forward looking. By doing so, the county has been able to grow its general fund reserves and leverage those dollars to apply for more grants with its ability to meet the match and ultimately take advantage of more funding opportunities which save general fund dollars.

An example of this is the county having the match money available to apply for the State’s Regional Recreation Centers Quality of Life Grant in the amount of $6.5 million for the construction of the Multipurpose Livestock Pavilion. This additional funding has been instrumental in moving the project forward.

The county is constantly planning for the future and preparing for projects that can be funded in the coming years. By having shovel ready projects on the shelf, the county has been very successful in receiving grants to fund projects that would have been paid for from general fund dollars or may have never been financially feasible.

Although the county has been very successful in receiving funds from grants, awards, state appropriations, etc., we need to continue to take advantage of the funds that are available at the State and Federal level to continue to improve the operations of the county.

Q: Do you have any future plans/goals on your agenda?

A: The county is always looking forward to improving its efficiency and operations. It is very important we continue to hire and retain qualified staff to move forward on the current and future projects.

We have many projects that are either in construction or are in preliminary stages. I would like to see these projects on our Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan come to fruition. Those projects include a recreation and sports complex, behavioral health facility, road projects, etc.

— Compiled by Landry Sena, the Staff of the News