Cherokee County outlines $2026 budget, proposes medical plan changes and 3% COLA

Cherokee County officials reviewed the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget at a Sept. 2 work session, with CFO Jimmy Marcus saying countywide expenditures are projected to rise by about $20.5 million (4.91%). The budget presentation included a 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment for employees, a proposed 10% increase in employee medical premiums and plan design changes county staff say will narrow an insurer's $3 million forecasted medical cost increase by about $2.37 million.

County officials say the proposed budget matters because it sets projected service levels, capital work and tax‑supported spending for the coming year. The administration portrayed the plan as balanced but noted one contingent area — medical claims — could require additional fund balance or other budget actions if insurer projections materialize.

Marcus told commissioners the county expects a roughly 5.38% increase in general fund revenues compared with 2025, driven primarily by property tax growth (about $6.9 million of the increase). Countywide capital and operating highlights presented include a total projected spend of roughly $101.7 million next fiscal year, $19.6 million of added operating funds (about a 6.19% operating increase), and $879,000 in added capital spending. Personnel increases account for about 54% of the total expenditure increase, Marcus said.

On benefits, Marcus and benefits staff described a package of medical plan design changes intended to control rising prescription and specialty drug spending. Proposed changes in the draft plan include: raising individual/family deductibles from $750/$2,250 to $1,000/$3,000; adding a separate prescription out‑of‑pocket maximum ($1,000 individual, $2,000 family); increasing mail‑order cost for a 90‑day supply from $50 to $95; raising specialty drug copays from $200 to $300; and increasing primary care, specialist and urgent care copays (to $40 and $50 respectively). The county would also increase employee premium contributions by 10% beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and staff said the plan changes would move the employer/employee cost split to about 81% employer / 19% employee.

County staff said the plan‑change package would reduce the insurer's projected $3 million cost increase by approximately $2.37 million; if the insurer's higher forecast proves accurate, county staff said the remaining shortfall would be roughly $600,000 and would need to come from fund balance or other offsets. Commissioners pressed for clarity on the modeling; staff referenced prior claims experience and consultant IOA projections, noting that a small number of high‑cost individual claimants drive much of the pharmacy and specialty drug expense. Marcus and staff also noted the county could steer elective procedures toward a bundled provider program (referred to in the discussion as "Lanner") to lower plan costs if employees elect that option.

Other budget details presented: a $56.14 million projected ending general fund balance (about 3.8 months of operating reserves); planned use of SPLOST receipts ($19 million noted from 2018 SPLOST for a courthouse parking deck and $7.5 million increase in 2024 SPLOST spending, including city pass‑through payments); planned impact fee usage of roughly $3 million for fire and parks capital; and departmental highlights that show the top 10 departments account for about 89% of the general fund increase. Key calendar dates cited by staff: a public hearing on the budget Sept. 16 and adoption scheduled Oct. 7.

The CFO and the county manager told commissioners staff can revise line items before final adoption; they cautioned most revenues are now fixed and many expenditures are contractual or otherwise difficult to change. No final budget adoption vote is recorded in the work‑session transcript; budget adoption was presented as an action item for future meetings.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about how many plan members reached out‑of‑pocket maximums in recent plan years and how those claims affect projections. Staff cited 2024 plan experience showing several dozen members reached prescription‑only out‑of‑pocket maximums and roughly three hundred individuals reached deductible/out‑of‑pocket thresholds; staff said actuarial projections extrapolate those patterns forward with higher assumed medical and drug costs for 2026.

County staff and the CFO said they would update materials and can include or exclude particular assumptions before the formal public hearing.

A routine motion at the end of the work session to adjourn into executive session was carried; the transcript records no final vote on the FY2026 budget during the work session.