Sheridan County considers voluntary buyouts to help balance FY25-26 budget

Sheridan County commissioners on May 20 discussed a draft, voluntary buyout program as one possible tool to reduce payroll costs and help balance the proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget, while county staff warned that recent revenue spikes tied to May property-tax collections are temporary.

Ida Chung Thompson, county clerk and county budget officer, told the Board that after interfacing with the treasurer the county saw "an increase of revenues, 3,300,000.0 from the last time an update was provided to y'all," and noted the general-fund equity shown on one handout rose from about $4,000,005.50 (report run May 2) to about $8,000,001.64 (report run May 19) because property taxes are collected in May.

The increase, Thompson added, reflects year-to-date collections and "is not necessarily saying what is the projection for revenues for this upcoming fiscal year," and she urged the Board to treat the figure as a temporary spike rather than an available, steady balance.

Why it matters: departments told commissioners they could not reach an 8% spending reduction for FY25-26 without cutting personnel. Cameron (staff member) presented a draft resolution modeled on a 2015 county resolution that would offer voluntary buyouts to employees, with payment tiers tied to length of service and the requirement that buyouts be paid from the current fiscal year so vacated positions would not be refilled.

Cameron described the proposed tiers: "If you've been with the county from 0 to 1 year's employment, you would receive 1 month's salary as a severance plus 1 month COBRA coverage on health insurance. 1 to 5 years is 2 months salary and 2 months COBRA. 5 to 10 years would be 3 months salary and 3 months COBRA. And 10 plus years would be 4 months salary and 4 months of COBRA." He said the intent is that participation be voluntary and that payments be made by June 30 out of FY2024-25 funds so those positions would not be replaced in FY2025-26.

Cameron said the draft is "90%" the same as the 2015 resolution and that he worked with Clint, deputy county attorney, to clean up the language; the draft will need a resolution number and final legal review before the Board could vote.

Board reaction and context: several commissioners said the buyout is a difficult but reasonable tool to consider; others warned that voluntary separations could leave departments understaffed and force reduced public-service hours. One commissioner said reducing staff without reducing service expectations would be unrealistic: "We can't reduce staff and expect service hours to stay the same." Another commissioner added that some departments — the sheriff's detention operation and the clerk of district court — had already proposed eliminating positions to meet budget targets, and that other elected offices had indicated statutory duties could be harder to meet with fewer staff.

Assessor and revenue uncertainties: Paul Falls, county assessor, told the Board that long-term homeowner exemptions and other changes are still being processed. He said the assessor's office had identified about "$1,700,000,000 in exempted market value" and that local taxable values were roughly in the $600,000,000 range and could move again as filings continue. Commissioners and staff repeatedly noted that property-tax exemption filings close May 27 and that the assessor must provide final assessed-value numbers by June 1, creating timing pressure for the budget process.

Next steps: the Board did not vote on the buyout. Instead commissioners directed staff to obtain a resolution number, finalize language with the deputy county attorney, and return the draft for a future Board vote. County staff also asked commissioners to provide any additional direction for departments before scheduled budget review meetings on June 9 (coroner only) and June 16–17 (full budget reviews), both set to start at 10 a.m.

No vote was recorded on the buyout proposal during the May 20 special meeting.