Belknap County delegation approves FY‑25 budget after cuts to several outside agencies

Belknap County delegates approved a FY‑25 spending plan after extended debate and a series of amendments. The delegation’s final vote to adopt the budget passed 11–5.

The budget review committee presented the committee’s recommendation to the delegation, describing total recommended expenditures, revenue assumptions, use of fund balance and the resulting amount to be raised by property taxes. Committee members said recommended total expenditures were about $37.7 million and that the committee proposed using roughly $1.3 million of fund balance; the committee presented revenues of about $13.9 million and an amount to be raised by property taxes of roughly $22.0 million. The committee also reported that the suggested budget would translate to a single‑year increase that delegates characterized in discussion as roughly in the mid‑single digits (committee figures presented an approximate 6.2% comparison to the prior year before some amendments).

Debate focused on three main clusters of concern: - Outside agency funding: Delegates debated funding for non‑county, nonprofit organizations that receive county…