Monroe County Council reviews budgets, hears auditor on $8.35 million shortfall; approves multiple departmental budgets and line-item amendments

Monroe County Council met in a budget work session Thursday, Sept. 4, to continue review of proposed 2026 departmental budgets and consider several mid-cycle line-item changes.

Auditor Bree Gregory told the council the county's total requested budget across projection funds was $136,010,361 and that recent reductions left a projected deficit of $8,354,554. "If we keep the property tax levy at about $23,000,000 as planned at this time, we anticipate ending 2026 with a $13,900,000 balance," Gregory said, noting that projected year-end cash would be below the county's stated minimum fund balance of $15,000,000.

The council approved a slate of departmental budgets and amendments during the meeting. The body adopted line-item changes requested by departments, accepted reductions proposed by several departments, and approved amendments to the aviation department's proposed purchases. Council members voted on each appropriation by roll call.

Why it matters: The auditor's figures show the county needs to close an $8.35 million gap to maintain reserves at policy levels; council votes on fund transfers and self-insurance appropriations this fall will affect property-tax pressure, department spending and the timing of budget decisions.

Aviation budget, FAA privacy rule and ARPA drainage overlap

The council reviewed the Monroe County Airport's proposed operating budget and several requested adjustments from airport staff. Airport representative Carlos Laverty outlined $97,525 in cuts and $8,300 in increases and described specific capital and safety needs, including replacement SCBA breathing apparatus for firefighters and airfield tools. Laverty also sought to reallocate some ARPA-related drainage funding and explained the airport planned a community "aviation weekend" with Young Eagles flights and events.

Laverty warned of a national policy change that could affect a growing local revenue stream: landing fees. He said the Federal Aviation Administration had allowed aircraft owners to block their registration on the FAA tail-number database and that, with no FAA-provided mechanism for airports to access blocked owner records, the airport's software that uses tail numbers to bill landing fees (Vertower) is becoming less effective. "We're already starting to see it affect us," Laverty said, noting the airport collected about $30,000 in landing fees last year and that blocked registrations threaten that revenue.

Councilors approved an amendment that reduced two proposed airport capital purchases (furniture and a vehicle) and, after the applicant presented cuts and reassignments, approved the aviation fund budget by roll call 7-0.

Self-insurance fund and midyear appropriation discussion

Council members debated how to address escalating self-insurance claims. Auditor Gregory described a series of fund balances across levy and non-levy accounts and noted that the county's self-insurance fund had experienced unexpectedly large invoices during the year. Employee services reported an unusually large invoice (nearly $900,000) and pushed a revised appropriation request to ensure the fund maintains its minimum balance.

Council voted 7-0 to adjust the county's self-insurance line to reflect the department's revised numbers while directing staff and employee services to provide more detailed analysis before future meetings. Council members requested additional spreadsheets and asked staff to model alternatives (for example, whether reducing the per-position self-insurance budget from $18,000 to $16,000 would be feasible) before the next calendar meeting.

Public defender, parks, assessor and fair budgets

The council approved the public defender general fund budget after discussion about unfilled attorney positions and hiring difficulties; the general-fund item passed 6-1 (Councilor Hawk cast the lone no). The council also approved the public defender supplemental reimbursement budget (7-0).

Parks officials described plans for Karst Farm Park and the newly donated nature preserve, noting the park board had identified $114,000 in additional drainage and cleanup costs related to a neighboring airport-funded ARPA drainage project. Park leaders said minimal initial work (parking, trails, stormwater) could open parts of the preserve in 2027 if bond funds or other capital are available; the parks general fund and capital requests passed 7-0.

The county fair board said it had used much of its repair budget this year to replace a 40-year-old community building roof (about $73,189) and is postponing planned paving. The fair fund budget passed 7-0.

Assessor Judy Sharp reviewed reassessment contracting, pictometry/aerial imagery and GIS costs. The reassessment fund pays for periodic aerial flights, GIS services, and a multi-year contract with Nexus (property trending and new-construction valuation work). The council approved assessor budgets (general, sales-disclosure and reassessment) by voice/roll call, 7-0.

Votes at a glance

- Amend agenda to add items 10a, 10b, 10c: adopted by roll-call vote 7-0. - Aviation: amendment (furniture and vehicle reduced to $1): adopted 7-0. - Aviation fund budget (amended total): adopted 7-0. - County fair general fund budget: adopted 7-0. - Public defender general fund budget: adopted 6-1 (Councilor Hawk opposed). - Public defender supplemental (state reimbursement) budget: adopted 7-0. - Parks general and capital requests (including nonreverting capital): adopted 7-0. - Assessor general, sales-disclosure and reassessment budgets: adopted 7-0. - Amendments under agenda item 10 (various FICA/self-insurance/line-item corrections): adopted 7-0.

What's next

Council members asked staff to provide more detailed modeling for the self-insurance fund and to run alternative scenarios for any requested midyear appropriations before the next meeting. Departments will continue to present details during remaining budget sessions and the public hearing process before final adoption.

Attributions: Auditor Bree Gregory presented the countywide figures, and airport representative Carlos Laverty, Assessor Judy Sharp, Parks Director Kelly Whitmer and public defender representatives spoke for their departments during the session. Direct quotations in this report are from those speakers and from roll-call tallies recorded in the meeting transcript.