Rock County administrator presents detailed 2026 recommended budget, highlights capital plan and levy pressures

Rock County Administrator Randy Light on Tuesday night presented the county administrator's recommended 2026 budget to the full Board of Supervisors, describing a larger, more-detailed budget document and outlining funding choices for initiatives, capital projects and debt. The presentation walked supervisors through a new budget-initiatives section, personnel summaries, a five-year capital improvement plan and proposed sources of funding including sales tax and borrowing.

Light said the budget document was expanded “for transparency” and that the table of contents in the printed and online versions is hyperlinked to help supervisors navigate the larger packet. He said the packet includes a foldout summary of every departmental budget initiative, with blue highlights for initiatives the administrator recommended and a far-right column estimating levy impacts.

The administrator pressed supervisors to review the capital improvement plan (CIP), which she said was included in full for the first time. The CIP lists project cost estimates and funding…