Kalamazoo County administrator previews balanced $97 million general fund budget; board to finalize in October

Administrator Dr. Catlin presented a preview of Kalamazoo County’s recommended fiscal year 2026 budget on Sept. 2, telling the Board of Commissioners the plan as presented is balanced and includes about $4.9 million available to address new capital and operating requests.

The budget preview showed $97.1 million in general-fund revenue against $93.5 million in general-fund expenditures, leaving roughly $2 million available for operating requests and additional dividend income of about $1.5 million that Dr. Catlin said administration is proposing to direct to capital needs. He described the presentation as “a preview, still a work in progress,” and said the budget book would be published Sept. 16 with a target for final approval in October so payroll changes can take effect Jan. 1, 2026.

Why it matters: The preview lays out the county’s available resources and the board’s priorities for next year — public safety, employee investments and community stability — while flagging near-term choices on how to use limited one-time and ongoing dollars if state or federal revenue streams change.

Key numbers and priorities presented - General-fund revenue: about $97,100,000 - General-fund expenditures: about $93,500,000 (the administrator said that figure includes roughly $4.5 million attributed to position vacancies) - Total funding available to address new operating and capital requests: about $4,900,000 - Law enforcement fund revenue/expenditures: roughly $18 million/$17 million, leaving about $721,000 plus a law-enforcement fund balance of about $718,000 that can be used for onetime capital - Proposed increase of $1.5 million in dividend income to be applied to capital improvements

Dr. Catlin walked the board through specific requests already included in the preview within the board’s declared priorities: public-safety hires and operating increases (animal services positions, court clerk, jail provisions and medical costs, technology analysts for the sheriff’s office, custodial staff assigned to the jail), employee investments (training, reclassifications and new HR and IT support positions) and community-stability items (sustainability manager request, MSU Extension support and additional operating aid for Building and Grounds).

Board members questioned several line items and assumptions. Vice Chair Taylor pressed for detail on the $93.5 million expenditure figure and noted it “includes position vacancies of about $4.5 million.” Commissioner Wheeler asked whether the sheriff’s requested increase for jail medical costs was fully reflected; Dr. Catlin said the county honored a $75,000 request for prescription and medical expenses in the jail. Members also examined vacancy assumptions and urged departments to have job descriptions and hiring timelines ready so new positions can begin early in the year.

Fleet and capital planning Deputy Administrator Cole and staff described an ongoing central stores/fleet program and told commissioners the county expects to allocate about $1 million annually long-term for fleet replacements, driven in part by law enforcement vehicle needs and enterprise leasing costs. The administrator and commissioners discussed building a target fund balance for fleet replacement to smooth long-term costs.

Opioid settlement and other earmarks Dr. Catlin said the budget includes $5,056,200 in opioid settlement funding in fund 284 to support the Office of Community Corrections and a criminal-justice clinician contract; that amount has been memorialized in the recommended budget.

Next steps Dr. Catlin said the budget book will go live Sept. 16, with continued review sessions and a likely public hearing the week of Oct. 7 and a target to approve the budget Oct. 21. He repeatedly described the preview as adjustable and invited commissioners to propose trims and priorities during the September and October discussions.

Sources and attributions: Administrator Dr. Catlin presented the budget preview to the Board of Commissioners on Sept. 2 and answered commissioners’ questions about vacancy savings, sheriff’s medical requests and fleet funding. Deputy Administrator Cole and Finance Director Ryan Post provided technical details on fleet and claims.