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Board narrows FY26 budget options; votes to keep sheriff's staffing at FY25 levels
Summary
Supervisors discussed a proposed 5% rollback in health insurance premiums and debated removing funding for one new sheriff's position; the board voted to maintain FY25 staffing levels, delaying any addition.
Black Hawk County supervisors debated several elements of the proposed FY2026 budget, including a staff-recommended 5% health-insurance premium rollback, how that change would affect property tax rates, and a proposal to remove funding for one additional sheriff's position included in department budgets.
Finance staff presented cost scenarios the board said would roll the insurance premium back to approximately 2024 rates and produce lower residential property-tax increases. The presentation showed that a 5% reduction in the insurance premium would reduce the projected urban residential tax increase to about 3.24%; removing funding for one sheriff's position would reduce that figure further to about 2.91% (the presenter provided those figures during the meeting).
Board members weighed public-sensitivity concerns about a proposed 10% salary increase for elected officials and discussed whether the county should absorb more of the insurance savings rather than eliminate a position.
After discussion, a supervisor moved that the county not add the additional FY26-funded sheriff's position (that is, to keep staffing at FY25 authorization levels). The motion carried on a roll-call vote recorded as unanimous.
The meeting record shows continued concern from supervisors about building security and staffing needs in the sheriff's office; supervisors said reserves and a vacancy/turnover fund would be available if an unanticipated staffing need arose later in the year. No immediate change to sheriff operations or staffing was implemented other than the budget funding decision.
The board instructed staff to continue refining the fiscal-26 renewal numbers and bring final figures back for the budget hearing scheduled the following week.
