Departments present FY26 estimates; juvenile program flags funding gap for behavior‑management contract

Several county departments presented their fiscal‑year 2026 estimate‑of‑needs worksheets on April 15; the budget committee received the estimates and asked follow‑up questions on specific items including computers, utilities and a juvenile behavior‑management contract.

The nut graf: emergency management, HR/health & safety, facilities, employee benefits (the committee approved renaming the social services line to “Pharmacy”) and the juvenile bureau all brought FY26 requests to the committee. Committee members received the submissions and asked departments to return with clarified numbers where formulas or carryovers produced inconsistencies.

Highlights and department notes: - Emergency Management: Barnes (emergency management representative) said his general fund request retains an administrative assistant position, includes $90,000 in one‑time furniture to equip a new emergency operations center and asked to continue two cabin chassis units for fire/rescue partnerships and two additional outdoor warning devices. He told the committee the new operations center is anticipated to be available in October, which could reduce an existing $25,000 annual rental expense.

- HR / Health & Safety: Karen (HR/Health & Safety) requested modest increases for travel, memberships and professional certifications and asked to remove a $200 mileage placeholder from the estimate. She also requested vehicle funding to reduce staff use of personal vehicles in the field; committee staff said the estimate will be revised and resubmitted.

- Employee Benefits / County Pharmacy: Committee members agreed to rename the “Social Services” estimate to “Pharmacy” and asked staff to move a $163,000 senior‑centers line to the appropriate account. County benefits staff said the benefits budget will require revisions to reflect recent claims and carrier renewals; staff also noted the board’s prior direction to apply a 3% increase to employer and employee premiums when preparing projections.

- Facilities: Facilities staff asked to keep most capital flat but noted an insurance‑related reserve and routine capital requests; they also flagged costs tied to cleaning and project support and the need to track project‑related cleaning costs within project budgets when possible.

- Juvenile Bureau and Juvenile Detention: Grant (juvenile bureau staff member) requested two positions — a family engagement coordinator and an additional custodian — and flagged several cost drivers: a $48,000 estimate to replace ~40 district computers that will become unsupported in October; increased utility costs; and a behavior‑management/telehealth contract (Turnkey) that has been funded with ARPA dollars but currently will only be funded through December 2025 under the county’s funding plan. Juvenile leaders said Turnkey’s services (medication evaluation, psychiatric evaluations, individual counseling and GPS monitoring) have reduced incidents and helped manage higher detention populations, and they requested the committee consider options to close an anticipated gap if ARPA funds do not extend the contract.

Committee response and next steps: the committee voted to receive the departmental estimates, and staff committed to returning corrected worksheets where spreadsheet formulas or carryover treatment produced mismatches. Juvenile leaders were asked to pursue potential alternate funding sources and to provide a corrected contract/run‑rate so the committee can weigh options before ARPA funds expire.

Ending: Departments will submit revised estimates and supporting detail to the budget office; juvenile staff will return with options to cover the Turnkey contract beyond December 2025 if ARPA funds are not available.