The Bradford County clerk presented the tentative fiscal year 2025-26 budget at the Aug. 5, 2025 meeting, distributing binders with line-item revenue and expenditure estimates and a summary of anticipated available fund balances as of Sept. 30, 2025.

The clerk told commissioners the tentative budget shows total expenditures of $88,911,000 and a contingency reserve of $13,345,000. The board’s unrestricted reserves were listed at about $11,200,000; subtracting a two-month recommended emergency fund of just under $7,000,000 (per Government Finance Officers Association guidance) left roughly $4,300,000 in available general fund reserves under the clerk’s calculation. The clerk cautioned that large purchases before fiscal year-end could change those estimates.

The clerk noted several purchases on or recently approved from the current year budget that will reduce carryover balances: a $20,000 John Deere excavator; a $58,000 emergency fire engine repair; $33,000 for paving the Sampson City station parking lot; and $230,000 for cardiac monitors (noting $135,000 is covered by a grant, leaving $95,000 from current-year funds). The clerk said the tentative budget currently includes a 3% cost-of-living adjustment, current FRS rates and other budget requests and that estimated revenue in the tentative budget assumes 10 mills on property values as provided by the property appraiser’s office; it does not yet include any revenue from a proposed fire assessment.

Several commissioners said they wanted a closer review of professional services contracts and whether any reductions could be made. A commissioner noted the county lacks certain in-house positions (for example, a county engineer or full-time county attorney) and that the contracts for outside professional services may be necessary for current operations, but asked staff to provide a list of agreements so the board could evaluate them.

Board members also discussed larger fiscal pressures ahead, including potential state action on property-tax rules, landfill customer stability and the need to maintain reserves. The clerk and manager said unanticipated revenue tied to any new fire assessment would be handled as unanticipated revenue in the next fiscal year and adjusted then.

The clerk said the tentative budget hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2025, and staff will update figures to reflect purchases approved at the Aug. 5 meeting.