Utah County links target-based budgeting, new ERP and strategic plan in FY26 budget kickoff

Utah County Administrator Ezra opened the county—s Sept. 4 budget kickoff by previewing a tighter connection between the new enterprise resource planning system ("Vault"), target-based budgeting and a forthcoming county strategic plan to guide the FY26 budget process.

"Budgets are merely a tool, to help us get to those accomplishments and those directives," Ezra said, arguing the three changes would let the county "get the dollars and cents to line up with what us as managers and our citizenry actually care about." He told commissioners the goal is to move budgeting from spreadsheets to a clearer expression of priorities and measurable objectives.

County staff said the approach will treat non-discretionary spending (wages, benefits, contractual increases, capital projects and internal service fund charges) as distinct from discretionary dollars that departments allocate each year. "The number 1 rule in budgeting is don't buy stuff you can't afford," Gina, the county budget analyst, told attendees, and she described supplemental service requests as the vehicle for departments to ask the commission for recurring or one-time increases.

Finance staff said the county will use Vault as the county—s enterprise system and will implement the budget module early next year so FY26 budgeting will be managed in the new platform. Patrick of Financial Services said staff will use Vault to automate inventory, service allocations and budgeting workflows. He also said staff plan to negotiate and publish service-level agreements (SLAs) so departments know the baseline level of core services they will receive from internal service funds (ISFs).

Gina summarized how departments should prepare: verify ISF inventory sheets to avoid being charged for equipment they no longer have; identify whether funding needs are ongoing or one-time; and use the supplemental-services form to justify requests by explaining the problem being solved and the performance impact for residents.

Staff said the strategic plan will be the long-term framework linking priorities to the budget and target-setting work. "Eventually this approach will tie everything that we do back towards that strategic plan and the values that we've collectively together determined," Ezra said. The county plans further briefings and follow-up budget work sessions before the FY26 budget is adopted.

County staff also said they will continue outreach for departments that need clarification and that budget questions can be revisited at the next day—s sessions and through routine follow-up with budget analysts.

The county did not take any formal votes during the work session; staff framed the presentations as the beginning of an extended FY26 budget process.