The Ashland County Finance & Economic Development Committee approved the proposed 2026 budget and voted to use contingency funds to buy a Trimble surveying unit for the county land conservation department.

Staff said earlier budget work identified roughly $459,000 in needed cuts after a duplicate library line inflated expenses; after multiple small reductions and a modest revenue adjustment the budget was balanced. County staff reported a fund-balance-applied line of $741,009.15 in the proposed general-fund budget and explained that typical vacancy savings and conservative expenditure estimates often produce a built-in ‘‘shock absorber’’ of roughly $350,000–$450,000 in prior practice.

The committee considered a late request from Land Conservation for new field survey equipment. Two vendor quotes were presented: a $34,000 option with greater capability in canopy and ravine conditions, and a $23,000 option that would be less effective under heavy canopy and in steep ravines. Staff said the department had older equipment from 2002 that had reached the end of useful life and that interim repairs (used charger, replacement battery) would not be a long-term fix.

Committee members discussed three ways to pay for the unit: carryover levy dollars (a prior-year unused levy), debt levy, or contingency. The committee voted to use contingency to purchase the Trimble unit immediately and approved spending $34,001.53 from contingency. Committee members noted there is approximately $9.9 million in contingency available in the budget documents presented by staff.

On the levy worksheet, staff described a ‘‘section C’’ adjustment that would bring forward unused levy capacity from prior years (approximately $48,055.59 as discussed in the packet). Taking that adjustment requires a two-thirds vote of the full county board and a showing that outstanding debt is at the same level or lower than the prior year, per the statute cited in the discussion. Committee members voted to present a version of the budget that incorporates the Section C carryforward to the full county board on Oct. 28; staff recommended publishing both versions (with and without the adjustment) so the board could act depending on whether the two-thirds threshold is reached.

Committee members asked staff to confirm statutory and Department of Revenue rules on timing and whether a vote before final budget adoption would be permitted. Staff said they would check with the Department of Revenue and with county counsel. The committee approved the budget as presented and approved the contingency purchase for the Trimble unit.