Camden County staff flag $1.01 million shortfall in draft fiscal 2026 general fund budget

Camden County staff on May 20 told county officials the draft fiscal year 2026 general fund budget includes a $1,009,011 shortfall that must be closed before the county adopts a proposed budget.

Nancy, a county staff member who presented the draft, said the county started with more than $50 million in department requests and is now showing $48,097,750 in proposed general fund spending, a 1.15% increase over the current budget. She said projected revenues rose after the tax assessor supplied a revised digest, increasing revenue estimates by nearly $900,000.

The shortfall remains because projected revenues still trail proposed expenses. "That leaves us with a shortfall of $1,009,011 that we need to balance," Nancy said. She told commissioners the county may use up to $2,000,000 of fund balance for budgeting purposes and estimated the fund balance would fall to $15.4 million, about 32% of the general fund budget under the current draft.

Why it matters: the draft includes payroll and benefits increases, staffing requests and capital items that affect county services and taxpayer-funded reserves. Nancy said most of the increase in the draft budget reflects payroll, Social Security and retirement contributions tied to a pay-scale adjustment: a 2.5% step increase on July 1 and additional anniversary increases of up to 2.5%.

Key budget details and attributions

- Revenues and shortfall: Nancy said the county originally projected $46,000,000 in revenues and began with a roughly $4.2 million shortfall; after expense reductions and the revised digest, the shortfall…