IRON MOUNTAIN — Dickinson County will enter 2021 in seemingly good financial shape, though Controller Brian Bousley remarked during a budget hearing that challenges lie ahead.

“I don’t forecast the next couple of years being as fruitful,” he said, noting the county’s general fund balance was under 20% four years ago but has climbed substantially. Last month, the county was able to set aside $1.2 million for future needs, while still keeping the fund balance at 35%.

The county board, meeting Monday night via Zoom, unanimously adopted a 2021 general fund budget that calls for $9.9 million in spending, up 1.5% from this year. The tax rate to support the budget remains at 6.1403 mills, or $6.14 per $1,000 of taxable value.

The budget hearing had been scheduled for the circuit courtroom but was switched Monday afternoon to a virtual session.

The only public comment came from Dale Alessandrini of Iron Mountain, who suggested the county could do more for the community with its fund balance.

“You gave all the (county) parks away except Lake Antoine, and you don’t fund 4-H,” he said. Before the recent set-asides, the fund balance stood at 47%, which Alessandrini termed “kind of ridiculous.”

He suggested lowering an extra-voted millage that funds the 911 dispatch center. Declining to do so, he said, could put future millage renewals in jeopardy.

Bousley said the county will need to keep its 124-year-old courthouse in good repair, plus there’s an unfunded liability of $17 million in the Michigan Municipal Employees Retirement System plan. Of the money the county has redirected, $239,835 went into a MERS post-employment benefits fund to reduce that obligation.

Despite cuts in state revenues during the pandemic, the county weathered 2020 with the aid of federal CARES Act grants and continued support through Michigan’s community stabilization program. The stabilization payment this year was $1.1 million, which was nearly $400,000 more than budgeted.

The county has repeatedly planned for lower payments, and that has been a factor in growing the fund balance. Bousley, however, cautions the stabilization formula — part of Michigan’s personal property tax reform enacted in 2014 — may weaken down the road.

Board Chairman Henry Wender thanked Bousley for his work on the budget and credited department heads for careful planning.

In other action, the board:

— Heard Commissioner John Degenaer Jr. report nine clients have COVID-19 at Pinecrest Medical Care Facility, a rehabilitation, long-term, and special care facility in Powers that is shared with Delta and Menominee counties. Pinecrest has established a wing for COVID patients, and those with severe symptoms are being transferred out, Degenaer said. “It seemed like it came in from an employee,” he said.

— Scheduled its reorganizational meeting for 11 a.m. Monday, either via Zoom or in the correctional center conference room. Commissioner-elect Ann Martin will be seated to represent Iron Mountain’s District 2. Martin, a Republican who previously served on the board 14 years, will return after defeating Democrat Kevin Pirlot in the Nov. 3 election.

— Praised Pirlot’s service the past two years, with Commissioner Joe Stevens, a Republican, saying Pirlot “served the community well.” Pirlot, in turn, said there were many positive happenings and, despite differences on national issues, the board stayed focused on representing Dickinson taxpayers.

— Heard Wender review some accomplishments of the past year, including a new courthouse roof, correctional center improvements and upgrades at Lake Antoine Park. Notable as well is Ford Airport again exceeded 10,000 passenger boardings, the important threshold needed to qualify for federal Airport Improvement Program funds up to $1 million, he said.