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County budget projected over levy cap; commissioners debate cuts, reserves and next steps
Summary
Budget staff told commissioners the draft 2026 budget currently exceeds levy‑cap calculations and could require cuts of roughly $1.4 million to $2.6 million depending on the method used. Commissioners debated using cash‑carryforward versus program cuts and scheduled follow‑up work sessions to refine numbers.
Grand Forks County finance staff told the Board of Commissioners that the draft 2026 budget, as presented, exceeds the property‑tax levy cap by a material amount and that commissioners will need to decide whether to cut expenditures, use reserves, or adjust the levy.
Why it matters: the levy cap governs how much property tax revenue the county can levy without a voter authorization; exceeding the cap requires expenditure reductions or other adjustments before the budget is finalized.
Staff walked commissioners through two cap calculations. Using the first method, staff said the county’s budgeted levy totaled roughly $31,971,561 and the cap calculation returned $29,000,395.63, leaving a gap that would require about $2,600,000 in cuts. Using the second method staff reported a cap figure of $30,542,291 and a smaller but still…
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