Overview
Rooks County closed 2025 with $5,880,306 in primary-government cash and investments after agency funds ($15,236,354 in total cash and investments less $9,356,049 in agency funds), plus the Historical Society ($44,322) and Free Fair ($53,287) for a reporting-entity total of $5,977,915. The General Fund spent $5,999,434 against printed receipts of $5,805,879, drawing its balance down from $620,223 to $426,668. Total contractual indebtedness at year-end was $2,358,957, split between $1,350,000 in Public Building Commission revenue bonds and $1,008,957 in finance leases.
Source: Rooks County audit, year ended December 31, 2025 (state jobs portal, PDF).
At a glance
Source: Rooks County audit, Statement 1 and General Fund schedule.
Budget walk
General Fund: beginning $620,223 plus printed receipts $5,805,879 minus printed expenditures $5,999,434 equals receipts over / (under) of $(193,555) and an ending balance of $426,668. The prior year: receipts $6,212,585, expenditures $6,367,125, over / (under) $(154,540), beginning $774,763, ending $620,223. The 2025 budget was $5,984,667 for receipts (variance $(178,788)) and $6,311,297 for expenditures (variance $(311,863)).
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Unencumbered cash, Jan 1, 2025 | $620,223 |
| Receipts, 2025 (printed) | $5,805,879 |
| Expenditures, 2025 (printed) | $5,999,434 |
| Receipts over / (under) expenditures | $(193,555) |
| Ending unencumbered cash | $426,668 |
General Fund receipts detail, 2025 (excluding the ARPA line — see below): ad valorem tax $4,151,566; city law enforcement contract $422,404; interest $403,069; motor vehicle tax $247,125; delinquent tax $146,072; county officer fees $76,741; reimbursed expenses $68,684; mineral production tax $31,216; prisoner care $29,960; commercial vehicle tax $27,651; 16/20M vehicle tax $27,850; federal land payment $24,849; water resources rent $19,800; emergency preparedness aid $16,640; miscellaneous $25,845; district court fees $7,474; reimbursed CDC court costs $7,366; recreational vehicle tax $6,529; diversion fees $4,460; antique vehicle tags $4,445; watercraft tax $4,492; transfer from motor vehicle operating $41,721; transfer from multi-year capital improvement $2,921; township bonds $1,838; drivers licenses $956; liquor tax $709; CMB licenses $450; sheriff VIN fees $200; moving permits $75; vehicle excise $75; commissary commissions $2,696; health insurance reimbursement $0. These lines sum exactly to the printed $5,805,879.
General Fund department totals, 2025: Employee Benefits $2,078,676; Sheriff $1,572,143; County Commissioners $330,870; Other expenditures $321,603 (Conservation District $25,000; Mental Retardation $42,516; Mental Health $30,642; Free Fair $70,000; Economic Development $82,999; Tort Liability $46,533; Historical Society $16,000; Juvenile Detention Center $0; Abandoned Cemeteries $500; Federal Land Entitlement $7,413); County Treasurer $235,092; Appraiser's Cost $205,130; Ambulance $203,479; Courthouse Custodian $191,621; County Clerk $189,002; County Attorney $129,153; Computers $121,245; Register of Deeds $91,940; Unified Court $90,443; Emergency Management $88,497; Service Programs $78,687; Election $62,048. These lines sum to $5,989,629 — $9,805 below the printed $5,999,434, so one department line is understated by $9,805 in extraction. The printed total is reported and the gap is disclosed in Sources & notes.
Major funds
Other funds: Road and Bridge receipts $2,267,637 against expenditures $2,042,696, a surplus of $224,941, on a beginning balance of $43,638, ending $268,579. Noxious Weed receipts $274,261 against expenditures $246,827, a surplus of $27,434, on a beginning balance of $16,795, ending $44,229.
| Fund | 2025 ending unencumbered cash |
|---|---|
| General | $426,668 |
| Road and Bridge | $268,579 |
| Noxious Weed | $44,229 |
Road and Bridge receipts detail: ad valorem $1,546,017; state special highway $412,489; insurance proceeds $112,987; motor vehicle $80,208; delinquent $49,310; reimbursed expenses $32,532; 16/20M $8,571; commercial vehicle $9,074; recreational vehicle $2,127; watercraft $1,480; miscellaneous $3,279; fuel tax refund $9,540; vehicle excise $25 — summing to $2,267,639, which is $2 above the printed $2,267,637, a $2 source rounding difference disclosed in Sources & notes.
Debt (Note 16): Public Building Commission revenue bonds ended 2025 at $1,350,000 (beginning $1,600,000 less $250,000 retired; interest paid $40,150). Finance leases ended at $1,008,957 (beginning $354,799 plus additions $878,942 less payments $224,784; interest paid $22,108), comprising the 2017 CAT Excavator $73,372; 2024 AEV Ambulance $326,020; 2022 JD 950K Crawler $495,014; Enterprise Sheriff Vehicles $114,551; and the 2018 CAT Wheel Loader $0. Total contractual indebtedness $2,358,957 (beginning $1,954,799 plus $878,942 less $474,784; interest paid $62,258), with total principal plus interest through maturity of $2,586,494 (principal $2,358,957 plus interest $227,537).
Landfill closure and post-closure: estimated liability $1,694,510 at 53.25% of capacity used, with $1,093,702 of remaining estimated cost; the landfill is expected to operate about 26 more years, and no assets are restricted for this cost.
Sources & notes
- Only source used: Rooks County audit, year ended December 31, 2025 (Mapes & Miller LLP, Stockton, KS; report August 25, 2026). Read the audit (PDF).
- Sum checks: the General Fund receipts detail (excluding the ARPA line) sums exactly to $5,805,879; the General Fund walk ($620,223 + $5,805,879 − $5,999,434) equals $426,668; Road and Bridge ($43,638 + $2,267,637 − $2,042,696) equals $268,579; Noxious Weed ($16,795 + $274,261 − $246,827) equals $44,229; the cash composition ($15,236,354 − $9,356,049 + $44,322 + $53,287) equals $5,977,915; PBC bonds ($1,600,000 − $250,000) equal $1,350,000; finance leases ($354,799 + $878,942 − $224,784) equal $1,008,957 and their components ($0 + $73,372 + $326,020 + $495,014 + $114,551) equal $1,008,957; total debt ($1,350,000 + $1,008,957) equals $2,358,957 and ($2,358,957 + $227,537) equals $2,586,494. Verified by addition.
- ARPA line disclosed: a $378,938 “reimbursement from ARPA” line appears in the General Fund detail table, but including it would put receipts at $6,184,817 — exactly $378,938 above the printed $5,805,879. It is therefore shown here as a memo line only, not counted in the receipts sum; its printed budget/variance column is also anomalous (a $(296,484) variance against a $296,484 budget figure, inconsistent with the $82,454 arithmetic difference) and is not used.
- Other discrepancies disclosed: (1) the General Fund department detail sums to $5,989,629, which is $9,805 below the printed $5,999,434; (2) the Road and Bridge receipts detail sums to $2,267,639, which is $2 above the printed $2,267,637; (3) the debt maturity schedule's total rows transpose 2026 and 2027 — the printed 2026 total principal of $501,293 equals the computed 2027 sum ($265,000 + $236,293), while computed 2026 principal is $481,108 ($255,000 + $226,108); lease-component sums also differ from printed lease totals by $4,733 in opposite directions across 2026/2027. Component-based 2026 debt service is principal $485,841 ($255,000 PBC + $230,841 leases) plus interest $72,561 ($35,150 + $37,411), totaling $558,402; the printed $562,747 is not presented as the 2026 figure.
- County palette: no verified Rooks County palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a county color.