The Butler County Board of Commissioners on July 15 approved sending the county clerk a Notice of Intent to exceed the R-and-R and set an evening public hearing for the county budget and R-and-R at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26. The motion passed 5-0.

The action requires the clerk to publish the county’s proposed maximum mill levy and the public hearing notice that must be mailed to local taxing entities. Commissioners said the later adoption date will give staff time to process publication and produce more detailed budget numbers before the board adopts a final levy.

Why it matters: the R-and-R (revenue neutral rate) notice starts a process that can change the county’s proposed mill levy and triggers required public outreach. Commissioners and staff discussed timing, publication windows and how to handle subsequent adjustments before formal adoption.

During a detailed procedural discussion, staff and commissioners described publication timelines, statutory requirements and past problems with newspaper publication systems; they agreed an evening meeting gives residents who work daytime hours a better chance to attend. The board also discussed publishing the highest (maximum) levy as a procedural safeguard and then lowering it in later budget deliberations.

The board asked staff to treat the Aug. 26 session as the R-and-R hearing and to accept public comment on the budget that evening, but to delay final adoption of the 2026 budget until a subsequent regular meeting (the board indicated Sept. 9 as the target adoption date). Staff said that managing the schedule this way preserves the public’s ability to comment while leaving the board time to review testimony and revised revenue estimates.

The motion to authorize the clerk’s notice and set the hearing was moved by Commissioner Murphy and seconded by Commissioner Herrissett. The clerk’s office and county staff will publish the required mailer and newspaper legal notice and will provide updated budget tables to the board before the adoption meeting.

Next steps: county staff will transmit the notice to the clerk for publication and will post the Aug. 26 hearing details on the county website and in county channels. The board expects to receive updated salary, insurance and fee-for-service numbers from departments and agencies before the adoption meeting in September.