Tippecanoe County officials reviewed proposed 2026 budget estimates at a work session and agreed to have staff prepare revised budget documents incorporating a 1% across-the-board pay increase and a $7.50-per-pay stipend, officials said.

Jennifer, a county staff member who presented the analysis, told commissioners that "the maximum levy growth was 4%," noting that assessed values were rising 2%–5% and that circuit breaker estimates had doubled. She said regular income tax distributions are up about 6%–7% while some other revenue categories — notably interest receipts — are expected to decline.

The presenter framed the projections as tight: she reported general fund revenues of $67,279,445 and said the general fund budget at a 96% spend-rate scenario was ‘‘just over $73,000,000’’ and would come in at about $70.2 million, leaving about $3,939,000 available in cash balance assumptions. She warned commissioners that 2026 could be a "perfect storm" of pressures including SB1, rising health insurance claims and uncertainty tied to pay-period calculations.

Commission discussion focused on personnel costs and the mechanics of pay periods. Jennifer explained a technical issue affecting take-home pay depending on whether the county divides annual pay into 26 or 27 pay periods: "the salary for a COMET 5 is $59,087 regardless whether you pay it in 26 or 27 pays," she said, and outlined how the per-pay amount changes when the number of pay periods changes. Commissioners discussed that calendar-driven pay-date shifts could affect net pay timing for employees.

To limit longer-term compounding of wage-grid increases while giving employees more immediate relief, the presenter outlined a combination of a 1% grid increase and a $7.50 per-pay stipend (the packet referenced a $7.50 figure). She estimated the 1% cost at about $613,000 and that doubling the stipend would cost roughly $565,000 in total, with the general fund share around $423,900. In addition to the stipend proposal, the presenter suggested targeted adjustments including shifting 10 percentage points of a current split to the reassessment fund and modest cuts by reducing an unfunded regular part-time position and trimming general fund health-insurance projections by about $100,000 to reflect expected turnover.

Several commissioners voiced support for the one-time stipend approach as a way to provide employee relief now while limiting ongoing salary growth; one commissioner said it was important to "find a way to do that." Commissioners also noted growing items that are driving expense increases, including juvenile secure-detention costs, increased jury and court expenses and higher sheriff overtime, which the presenter said had grown from approximately $350,000 to about $800,000 over recent years.

There was no formal vote at the session. The direction recorded in the meeting was that staff should prepare revised budget documents reflecting the discussed changes and circulate them in advance of the next meeting; the presenter said those documents might arrive close to next week's meeting. No final adoption of the budget occurred during the session.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the 1% increase and $7.50-per-pay stipend into updated budget materials, finalize the revised revenue and expenditure estimates and present the updated packet at the next commissioners' meeting for further consideration and any formal action.