Taylor County adopts tentative 2025-26 budget and keeps millage rates; commissioners debate sheriff cuts and cemetery maintenance

Taylor County’s Board of Commissioners on the first of two public hearings adopted tentative millage rates for fiscal year 2025–26 and approved a tentative county budget after a lengthy discussion about reductions in the sheriff’s office budget and the potential loss of inmate labor used for mowing and cemetery upkeep.

The board voted to keep the general fund millage at 7.2426 mills and the municipal services taxing unit (MSTU) millage at 1.225 mills, preserving an aggregate millage of 8.4676. The finance director told commissioners that, based on preliminary certified taxable values, keeping the millage the same will generate about $14,265,001.86 in ad valorem revenue for 2025, a decrease of roughly $1,958,000 from the prior year.

The proposed total budget for fiscal year 2026 is $101,315,002.18, the finance director said, and the county’s advertised grant funding in the budget totals $33,875,074. The board scheduled a second and final public hearing on the tentative millage and budget for Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, and directed staff to publish the budget summary in the newspaper on Sept. 12, 2025.

The nut of the discussion centered on cuts to the sheriff’s budget made during workshops and whether restoring some of that funding would preserve inmate work crews the county uses for mowing, trash pickup and cemetery maintenance. Commissioner Newman asked the board to consider restoring funds the sheriff requested, saying, “I would ask and see if this board is willing to fund what the sheriff’s office requested.”

Finance staff outlined the changes that produced the tentative budget, including decreases in certified taxable value countywide (a reported 11.77% decrease in the general fund area and about a 14.24% decrease for the MSTU unincorporated area), reductions to department requests, and several one-time and recurring adjustments. The budget reflects workshop changes such as a $320,000 reduction in the sheriff’s request (split into $200,000 and $120,000 for work squads), a $240,000 solid waste reduction for a truck previously purchased, and the addition of a $1.6 million grant for Industrial Drive.

Commissioners discussed specifics and tradeoffs: staff reported the cemetery maintenance line was reduced by about $6,700 for fuel and small expenditures, but commissioners and staff warned that without inmate crews the county would not have the labor capacity to maintain all county cemeteries. Finance staff said restoring $200,000 to the sheriff’s budget would reduce the county’s capital reserve but still leave a projected general fund surplus (finance staff estimated an excess around $88,000 after some restorations), a point cited by commissioners weighing restoration proposals.

Commissioners who supported holding the line noted the board had asked all departments to cut budgets. Commissioners who favored restoring funds cited constituent complaints about reduced mowing, park and ramp maintenance, and cemetery conditions. Several commissioners said they were reluctant to rely on the sheriff’s voluntary provision of inmate crews without a written commitment.

The board conducted roll-call votes to adopt the tentative general fund and MSTU millage rates and to approve the tentative budget for advertising; recorded votes on the millage showed affirmative votes by Commissioners English, Moody, Newman, Feagle and Demps. The county will revisit the final millage and budget at the Sept. 15 public hearing, where further adjustments may be made before final adoption.

Less-critical details discussed during the hearing included how emergency medical services (EMS) payments would be split between the general fund and a small county surtax when a new EMS provider begins service in January, and that some vehicles budgeted in FY25 will not be received until FY26 and must be funded out of FY26.

The county’s finance staff will publish the required budget notice and return with the final hearing next Monday to conclude the process.