Trinity County adopts $150.93 million FY 2025-26 budget; adds $20,000 for library grant

The Trinity County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt a final fiscal year 2025–26 budget of $150,930,034, approving a resolution that includes a $20,000 revenue and expenditure addition to reflect a library grant and an earmark of $70,000 for tourism-funded entities.

County Administrative Officer Dan Tuthill presented the resolution, saying the final budget is “exactly as you were presented at the September 23, budget hearing meeting with the exception of an addition of $20,000 to recognize, the library grant funding that they received last year.” Tuthill told the board the county added the $20,000 in revenue and a matching $20,000 in expenditures to allow the library’s plans to proceed in the coming fiscal year.

The budget drew brief public comment. Ben Kellogg, a Weerville resident, urged the board to increase the county’s information-technology budget, warning that “IT is along the lines of public safety” and arguing the county remains vulnerable to ransomware and other attacks. Kellogg also asked about remarks he said were made by a supervisor about a $500,000 level of indirect funding to volunteer fire departments; he said several fire chiefs told him they were unaware of such funding.

Supervisor McVail, who participated in the discussion after the presentation, praised the Friends of the Library and said investments in county technology have improved the county’s cybersecurity posture. McVail also described the $70,000 set aside for tourism-related awards, saying, “we have got the $70,000 that is set aside that can be attributed or or distributed to the tourism funded entities.” McVail said the current process would set an October 15 deadline for applications, with an ad hoc committee reviewing requests and returning recommendations to the board for the November 4 meeting.

The board called the question after discussion. The recorded vote was: Supervisor McVail, aye; Supervisor Cox, aye; Supervisor Brownfield, aye; Supervisor Carpenter Harris, aye. The motion carried and the resolution adopting the final FY 2025–26 budget was approved.

The meeting record shows the board intends the tourism funding to be allocated only after the ad hoc committee’s recommendation and a subsequent board decision; the board may choose to award all, part, or none of the earmarked $70,000. The county did not provide additional details in the meeting about the alleged $500,000 in indirect funding to volunteer fire departments; that figure was raised by a public commenter and referenced in a supervisor’s earlier comment but was not documented in the budget presentation.