Perry County council approves supplemental appropriations, opens 2026 public budget hearing

The Perry County Council approved a series of supplemental appropriations on a voice vote and then opened the public hearing for outside agencies to present 2026 budget requests.

The council voted unanimously, 6-0, to approve the amended agenda at the start of the meeting. The body then approved four additional appropriations: $95,800 for solid-waste revenue expenses, $98,600 from the Capital Projects Fund for paving the county parking lot, $1,000 added to the commissioners’ publications budget to cover an extra legal notice, and $2,500 from the general fund for an insurance deductible related to legal representation in a pending lawsuit involving the election board. All of those motions passed on voice votes recorded as 6 to 0.

The solid-waste appropriation covers revenue the county had not budgeted (ticket sales and recycling receipts) so the department can spend those receipts during the remainder of the year. The capital-projects appropriation is to repave the county parking lot; council members said the work would cover the full lot and that drawings had been shared with the council prior to the vote. The publications appropriation responds to an extra required newspaper publication tied to the animal welfare board; the county paid one run and sought funds to pay for the second. The election-board item is to cover a $2,500 insurance deductible for legal services in pending litigation referenced in the meeting.

After the appropriations, the council adjourned the regular meeting and opened the public hearing. Council members read the county’s 2026 advertised levy totals aloud as required for public notice, listing the major levy funds and the combined advertised total of $5,078,961. Meeting materials cited a preliminary over-levy projection of $99,587 that will need to be addressed in upcoming budget sessions. The council announced county budget work sessions beginning at 8 a.m. on scheduled September dates (budget sessions at the Armory) and a regular meeting on September 25 at 5 p.m. in the courthouse to finalize actions.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve amended agenda — made by Brad; second by David; outcome: approved, 6-0. - Additional appropriation — Solid Waste (ticket sales/recycling revenue) — request cited at $95,800; motion approved, 6-0. - Additional appropriation — Capital Projects Fund (pave county parking lot) — $98,600; motion approved, 6-0. - Additional appropriation — Commissioners publications — $1,000; motion approved, 6-0. - Additional appropriation — Election board (insurance deductible) — $2,500; motion approved, 6-0.

What happens next

Council members and staff said the county will use the advertised levy as the starting point for budget work sessions; the overage noted in the preliminary totals will require line items and/or levy adjustments before final adoption. The public hearing record will remain open for the agency presentations heard at the meeting ahead of the council's first reading of the 2026 budget.