Monongalia County Commission adopts FY2026 budget amid revenue drop; multiple routine actions approved

Monongalia County Commission approved a $43,675,929 fiscal year 2026 budget Wednesday and submitted it to the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office for review.

The adopted budget, which commissioners said is predicated on the same levy rate as the current year — 11 cents per $100 of assessed valuation — reflects a sustained decline in property valuations. A county official reported an 18.95% drop in Class 3 property valuations tied to how the state values oil and gas property, producing an overall 6.72% decline across property classes and an approximate $2.5 million reduction in property tax revenue compared with the current year.

County officials said the FY2026 total represents a 7.1% decrease from the current-year budget and cuts roughly $3.38 million from spending while retaining funding for constitutional offices and planned pay increases for eligible employees.

County administrators and commissioners described the budget as conservative but manageable. The plan keeps constitutional offices funded at a higher level than the prior year, makes targeted personal-service and contracted-services adjustments and includes a carryover assumption of $11.5 million for projects and programs not expected to be expensed in FY2025. Commissioners said the budget also contains a contingency reserve intended to remain robust amid uncertainty over…