The Shelby County Budget Legislative Audit Committee voted unanimously Sept. 30 to send the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget to the full county board after the committee and department staff agreed to multiple line-item adjustments and additions.

Committee members and department representatives walked through department submissions and made targeted edits to allow departments to receive and spend anticipated grant and special-fund revenues. The committee chair moved to forward the proposed budget to the full board as amended; the motion passed unanimously.

Why it matters: The committee's changes affect how departments may spend special funds and how the county records anticipated grant income. Several changes adopted at the committee stage create new revenue lines or permit existing special-fund balances to be used for planned expenses, which the committee said is intended to avoid the need for later midyear budget amendments.

Key outcomes and edits
- Circuit clerk: Committee members agreed to remove a $500,000 “miscellaneous circuit clerk grants” expenditure from the voucher submitted to the committee. Committee staff and the circuit clerk discussed the automation fund (automation balance $28,000; expected additional revenue about $20,000) and a proposed $7,500 computer-supplies request for ADA website compliance. The committee recorded a separate document-storage fund balance of about $217,000 and a proposed $50,000 line for scanning; the circuit clerk said the state-authorized scanning amount could be up to $500,000 but that reimbursement would require an expense line to be in the budget first.

- Judge/Circuit court: The committee agreed to add a revenue (income) line to allow the judicial branch to record miscellaneous judicial-branch grants (a $50,000 expense line was discussed and the judge's office will coordinate with the treasurer to add the corresponding revenue entry).

- Sheriff: The sheriff’s submission will include a $100,000 unanticipated-grant line and a $50,000 seizure/plea-money line; committee staff said corresponding revenue lines must be added so those special funds can be received and spent without later amendments.

- County general adjustments and contingency: Committee members discussed a large ‘‘other’’/auto-expense contingency item and reached consensus to reduce that line as part of trimming the overall contingency (the committee agreed to reduce the discussed auto-expense contingency by $100,000, leaving the line at $50,000, and to revisit remaining contingency needs as revenue and other items resolve).

- Audits and consultants: Committee members and staff discussed current engagement with external firms (Sikich, Lauterbach) and outstanding audit work covering prior years. The group noted existing contract amounts and prior payments (committee staff reported that about $20,000 had been paid to an auditing-related vendor during the year) and reiterated that the county intends to work with Sikich on levy and predictive spending analysis.

- Airport capital projects: County staff presented airport capital projects and grant mechanics for IDOT-funded work (main hangar, T-hangar and a GRAMA project). The discussion noted that most grant funds flow directly from the state to contractors and that the county/airport’s out-of-pocket share is a small percentage (examples cited: 5–10% shares and specific county/airport shares of listed projects); staff said the airport currently has about $285,000 on hand in its account to cover airport-side obligations.

Vote and next steps
The committee voted to send the FY2026 proposed budget, as amended in committee, to the full county board. The motion passed unanimously. The committee chair and staff requested follow-up coordination between department heads and the treasurer to implement the new revenue lines and to refine revenue estimates before the full-board presentation.

Context and totals
Committee staff said the total combined budget figure presented for 2025 was $23,599,273 and the total for the proposed 2026 budget (before the final round of adjustments noted in committee) was $22,101,075. Staff and members emphasized that refining revenue estimates and reviewing account balances will be necessary before final adoption by the full board.

Ending
Committee members asked departments to continue coordinating with the treasurer to ensure that newly created revenue lines and special-fund adjustments are reflected in the treasurer’s records before the full-board review. The committee chair closed the item and the meeting moved to other business.