Oklahoma County board receives FY25-26 budget estimates; staff warn of insurance, legal and benefit increases

Oklahoma County budget staff presented and the board formally received FY2025–26 estimates of needs for multiple departments Tuesday, approving motions to accept those estimates and flagging several cost pressures to follow up on.

The estimates covered planning, engineering, general government, county commissioners (including free fair), economic development, the assessor’s office, revolving and insurance funds, the county clerk, the treasurer and other offices. Staff repeatedly alerted the board to projected increases in insurance premiums, higher outside legal expenses, and specific large contract amounts for the courthouse annex and the detention center that should be reflected in department requests.

Why it matters: The motions to receive estimates do not adopt a final budget but set the baseline the county will use as it moves into budget-board review and final appropriation. Staff said several items remain subject to adjustment and asked for direction and follow-up before final votes.

Planning and master plan: Planning staff asked the board to note a proposed master plan for the county’s 30-year development horizon and the possibility of removing a $50,000 line from the planning estimate if the county budget board approves separate funding for the master plan at its meeting. Staff described the master plan as addressing land use, transportation and infrastructure (water and sewer), and said the northwest part of Oklahoma County is the most active for residential and commercial development. The presentation identified Deer Creek (a private water corporation), local school districts and adjacent cities as factors that can affect density and annexation decisions.

General government and benefits: The county’s general government estimate reflects a projected 25% increase in insurance premiums flagged by staff, along with staffing-related benefit increases. Budget staff said one employee switched from single to family coverage this year, creating a roughly $17,000 increase in benefits for that case; staff noted similar benefit shortfalls can recur if the county does not fund benefit adjustments. The office preparing the estimates asked the board for time to verify insurance and benefits figures with carriers and with departmental contract holders.

Outside legal and contracts: Staff proposed a $400,000 increase in outside legal services in the general-government estimate to cover anticipated expert witnesses and outside counsel for litigation the county expects to pursue — especially on higher-value commercial and multifamily property appraisals and related disputes. Separately, staff provided contract amounts for vendor services connected to county facilities: one contract for the courthouse annex was listed at $607,116 and a separate contract for the detention center at $608,036; staff asked that those numbers be included in departments’ budgets where they had not been accounted for.

Fair board and capital requests: The county’s free fair/fairboard estimate included a request to produce a permanent rule book rather than reprinting the entire book each year, and a capital request for a digital livestock scale priced around $15,000 to handle larger animals and heavier cattle entries. Fair leadership said printing a durable rule book and issuing smaller annual supplements could reduce recurring printing costs and make administration more transparent for show organizers.

Economic development and transit: Staff noted a $250,000 contract request with a local economic-development partner to fund outreach around the county’s Air Force base area and flagged a separate transit issue: the county previously funded a social-services bus route operated by Embark (Route 19). Staff said Embark is considering reducing or discontinuing service to that portion of the county and that restoring or replacing the route would require shifting funding from social services to economic development or another fund; staff estimated the total current contract at roughly $1.3–$1.8 million depending on the year and options.

Assessor and IT/capital needs: The assessor’s presentation emphasized one-time capital needs for data backup and hardware: staff asked for a dual data-domain backup solution (on-site and off-site/cloud) and replacement PCs, and described the county’s imagery and appraisal software contracts as drivers of increased operating costs. The assessor asked the board to consider funding backups early in the fiscal year to maintain control of property records and appraisal data.

Clerk, payroll and benefit shortfall: County clerk staff explained a benefit funding shortfall in the current fiscal year tied to midyear position transfers and payroll annualization. Staff said some positions that moved between budgets during the fiscal year were not fully annualized in their new accounts, producing an estimated shortfall (discussed as roughly $70,000–$100,000 during the meeting) that staff said will be reconciled and presented to the budget board for correction.

Next steps and follow-up: Multiple presenters asked for follow-up items — verification of insurance premium projections with carriers, a detailed outside-legal spending analysis, confirmation of vendor contract totals for facility services, and additional review of position transfers and benefits calculations. The board recessed until a continuation the next morning to allow additional review time.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to receive FY25–26 estimate of needs, General Fund — Engineering: approved (motion seconded; vote announced as “aye,” no recorded opposition).

- Motion to receive FY25–26 estimate of needs — Planning (including possible master plan funding): approved.

- Motion to receive FY25–26 estimate of needs — General Government: approved.

- Motion to receive FY25–26 estimate of needs — County Commissioners / Free Fair: approved.

- Motion to receive FY25–26 estimate of needs — Economic Development (general fund): approved.

- Motion to receive FY25–26 estimate of needs — Assessor (general fund and revolving): approved.

- Motion to receive FY25–26 estimate of needs — Self-Insurance and Workers’ Compensation funds: approved.

- Motion to receive FY25–26 estimate of needs — County Clerk: approved.

- Motion to receive FY25–26 estimate of needs — Treasurer: approved.

(Each motion was moved, seconded and recorded as receiving an affirmative voice vote; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript.)

Ending: The board did not adopt final appropriations at the meeting. Staff and commissioners set follow-up tasks to verify contract amounts, carrier premium estimates and benefit annualizations and scheduled continuation of budget review the next morning to finalize outstanding items before the budget-board review cycle.