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Woodbury County adopts FY2026 budget; board sets public hearing, corrects line items, forecasts reserves
Summary
The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors approved adjustments to the proposed fiscal 2026 budget, set a public hearing and adopted the final budget after discussion of reserves, levies and a clerical correction to Veterans Affairs funding.
Woodbury County supervisors approved corrections to line items and adopted the county's fiscal year 2026 budget after a public hearing and extended discussion of reserves and levies.
County Auditor Michelle Scaff reviewed changes made since the last budget meeting, saying the county's "ending reserve balance at the end of fiscal year 26, so June thirtieth of 2026, is 22.9%." Scaff told the board that line-item corrections and transfers reduced projected deficits from earlier drafts and that efforts had significantly reduced a larger beginning-year shortfall.
The budget review included a clerical correction to a Veterans Affairs line item and a $10,000 adjustment that Scaff said would be incorporated into the fiscal 2026 figures. Scaff reported a combined deficit across taxing funds of $1,593,493, later adjusted to $1,603,493 with that $10,000 addition. She also noted that, as presented, the countywide levy would remain the same as the prior year at 7.1118 and that the rural levy would be 9.52405.
Scaff explained how those levy rates translate to taxpayers, saying the county's portion of property taxes for a $100,000 residence would increase by about $7.74 under the current rollback and levy calculations; for a rural $100,000 residence she said the county portion would increase roughly $10.37.
The board formally set a public hearing on the proposed fiscal 2026 budget for 4:45 p.m. as required by Iowa Code and later adopted the budget and accompanying resolution by a 5-0 vote. The board also approved the budget miscellaneous items and the clerical correction in separate motions prior to adoption.
The board and staff discussed reserve strategy, beginning-balance accounting choices and possible future adjustments to CIP projects to affect the debt service levy. Scaff noted the county's ending reserve would cover roughly two months of expenses under the presented plan.
The adoption followed standard procedure: notice publication, a brief public hearing with no speakers, and final action by the Board of Supervisors to adopt the resolution and submit the budget to the auditor by the statutory deadline.
