County staff circulated the first draft of the Edgar County 2026 budget and an accompanying levy estimate and told the board the draft is currently out of balance and will be discussed in upcoming meetings.

"Additionally, here is the first draft of the budget for '26. It is out of balance about $30, but there's some opportunities in there," an unnamed county official said, asking board members to review departmental requests and line-item justifications. The official said they were checking department proposals for salary increases and asked board members to provide feedback in coming meetings.

The board discussed the levy and how last year's settlement-driven increase may be reduced next year. One board member said the levy figure as discussed in meeting materials was unclear; staff and board members agreed to revisit the specific levy numbers in subsequent meetings so the public explanation can be clearer. The transcript contains several references to levy percentages and township-only hearings (for example, a township planning an an 18.69% levy increase), but no final levy vote or formal adoption occurred during the meeting.

Board members also flagged the sheriff's budget for particular attention. A county official said the sheriff's budget would receive concentrated review during an October 2 meeting with the sheriff and his staff and warned that the sheriff's budget "is out of control," prompting further scrutiny and potential follow-up meetings.

The draft budget was distributed to board members so they would have more time to review than in the prior budget cycle, staff said. No formal budget vote occurred at the meeting; staff asked that members review the draft and noted the board can schedule additional meetings if necessary.

Ending: Staff will bring revised materials and clarifying details to the board in the coming weeks; the board scheduled a specific review of the sheriff's budget on Oct. 2.