Douglas County previews 2026 budget, flags revenue uncertainty and behavioral health fund uses

At a Douglas County Commission work session, county staff presented a preview of the proposed 2026 budget and outlined key revenue trends, the status of the behavioral health projects fund and a timeline for public hearings and deliberations.

The presentation, delivered by staff member Sarah, said assessed valuation growth for the 2026 budget will be 5.7 percent and that staff currently projects $12.7 million in revenue for the behavioral health projects fund in 2025, of which about $6.6 million is expected from the county's behavioral-health sales tax and $5.2 million from property tax amounts that predated the sales tax. Sarah said the behavioral health fund had an actual starting fund balance of about $20.7 million in 2025 and that the commission approved $3.2 million in one-time capital expenditures from that fund during 2025.

Why it matters: the budget sets how services funded by property tax, sales tax and other fees are delivered across county departments and to community partners. Staff emphasized that volatile revenue sources'notably investment income and slower sales-tax growth than in recent years'could limit the county's capacity to add ongoing spending.

County staff told commissioners the county is working to sustain core services while managing inflation and compensation pressures. The presenter said the county completed a classification and compensation update during the 2025 budget cycle, the first in more than a decade, and that 2026 planning must account for those costs.

On revenues, staff summarized: assessed valuation growth is projected at 5.7 percent (five-year average 7.7 percent; 10-year average just under 6 percent); 2024 total sales-tax collections were about $9.7 million and rose about 0.64 percent over 2023; and investment income for 2024 was roughly $7.5 million compared with a…