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Benton County supervisors table budget adoption after public hearing on rising property taxes
Summary
After a lengthy public hearing and detailed citizen critique of the proposed levy and reestimated figures, the Benton County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to table final approval of the fiscal 2026 budget until next week and to avoid raising published expenditure amounts.
Benton County supervisors on Tuesday opened a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, heard an extended public critique of levy increases and reestimated figures, and voted unanimously to table formal adoption until next week.
A resident who identified herself as Jill urged the board not to adopt the budget that day and urged supervisors to lower levies, tighten reestimated figures and consider a hiring moratorium to control rising property-tax burdens on fixed-income residents. “I don't think you should adopt a budget today,” Jill said during public comment.
The board’s action came after extensive discussion of fund balances, transfers into the secondary roads fund and the county’s reestimated revenue figures. The resident cited comparative figures for Boone County and Benton County’s fiscal-year ending fund balance and said Benton County’s proposed levies and administration spending had risen sharply in recent years. She recommended delaying adoption, reworking reestimated beginning balances, reducing appropriations where possible and using appropriation limits to control spending.
County staff and the auditor explained constraints related to transfers to secondary roads and the statutory minimum transfer threshold that affects eligibility for certain state road-use and farm-to-market funds. Auditor Hailey (auditor) described how transfers are set and warned that lowering transfers could reduce state funding for road projects; staff said the county submitted the secondary roads levy at 92.5% of the maximum and that dropping close to 75% could trigger reductions in state road-use payments.
After public comment and board discussion, the board adopted a motion to table final approval of the budget for one week with an addendum that the board would not increase the already-published expenditure amounts. The motion passed on a roll call of Tippett, aye; Seaman, aye; Rules, aye.
The delay gives staff and supervisors time to update reestimated figures, examine department-level reestimates and consider targeted appropriation reductions rather than raising the published levy ceiling. Board members and staff said they will circulate revised departmental reestimates before the next meeting so the board can review specific options for lowering levies without risking state funding for road programs.
The board closed the public hearing at the end of the meeting and scheduled the budget vote for the following week.
Why this matters: The board’s decision to delay formal adoption leaves the published levy amounts intact for now but signals supervisors will revisit department reestimates and fund balances before finalizing the tax levy. Residents who testified warned that continuing property-tax increases could strain households on fixed incomes and urged the board to use appropriation controls and hiring freezes to limit growth.
