Ellis County approves 2026 budgets, exceeding revenue-neutral rate after public hearing

ELLIS COUNTY — The Ellis County Commission voted 3-0 on Sept. 9 to approve the proposed 2026 general fund and Fire District No. 1 budgets and adopted Resolution 2025-14, after opening and then closing a public hearing on the county's plan to exceed the revenue-neutral rate.

County Administrator Darren Myers opened the hearing and described the process for receiving public comment before the commission voted. "The final step of the budget process is here this morning, to have a public hearing for both the r and r and the county budgets," Myers said. The commission then heard roughly an hour of public comment from residents who pressed the board to consider alternatives to raising property taxes.

Why it matters: The approved budget will raise the county's mill levy above the revenue-neutral rate, increasing property-tax bills for homeowners and businesses. Commissioners and staff said the increase responds partly to anticipated cuts in grant funding and other pressures; residents warned of the effect on households and local employers.

Residents who spoke at the hearing emphasized the local tax burden. Mark Hess, identifying himself as "a resident of Ellis County," told commissioners, "This budget raises the mill levy and increases the burden on tax payers rather than making the difficult, but necessary choices." John Pyle said property taxes on his home rose from $3,600 to $5,800 in five years and asked, "Where can we find other sources of revenue besides off of the taxpayers back?"

Myers and commissioners offered financial context during and after public comment. Myers said the county's current assessed valuation is about $536,000,000 and that the proposed estimate of 1.9 mills would yield almost $1 million in additional revenue. He described the components of that 1.9 mills as 0.9 mills adjusted through the budget process and an additional 1.0 mill to prepare for possible reductions in federal grant funding. Myers also said the preliminary valuation increase released in June was roughly 1.4 percent, representing about $6,000,000 in additional assessed value overall.

Speakers cited county revenue sources as part of their arguments. One resident questioned how wind turbines are taxed; Myers said payments from the county's wind facilities are structured as payments in lieu of taxes and called out a prior valuation that estimated those payments at about $892,000.

Commissioners said they had spent months reviewing departmental budgets and had trimmed and adjusted line items during multiple meetings. Commissioner Nathan Leiker and others said they had reviewed department requests line by line; the board noted about $770,000 in reductions discussed at a recent meeting.

The commission first voted to open the public hearing and later to close it. After public comment concluded and discussion ended, the commission voted to approve the budgets and Resolution 2025-14 by roll call, with Nathan Leiker, Neil Younger and Michael Burgess voting yes. The board's action was recorded as "passes 3-0." The county indicated the budget documents had been discussed over six months and that some of the levy increase is intended as a contingency for potential cuts to grant programs such as those serving women, infants and children.

The commission also invited the public to a budget work session scheduled for Sept. 23, where commissioners said they will continue discussions about the county's long-term fiscal approach.

The commission's vote adopts the 2026 budgets and the accompanying resolution; specifics of line-item appropriations are in the county's adopted budget document for 2026.

Commissioners present: Michael Burgess (chair), Neil Younger (vice chair), Nathan Leiker. County Administrator: Darren Myers.