Valley County presents preliminary FY2026 budget; commissioners approve several staffing and funding changes for review

Valley County officials presented a preliminary budget overview for fiscal year 2026 during a public budget workshop and directed staff to publish the proposed budget for public review ahead of a public hearing later this month. Clerk Miller said the board would likely publish the budget on Monday and hold a public hearing on Aug. 27.

The workshop covered multiple staffing and funding proposals. Terry, the county’s facilities director, requested converting an anticipated vacancy into a full-time HVAC journeyman position and said much of the county’s preventative maintenance work involves heating, ventilation and air conditioning. "Most of the preventative maintenance we have here at Valley County directly deals with HVAC," Terry said, and argued that having an on‑staff journeyman would reduce emergency call-outs and contractor costs. County staff estimated the net expense to fund the new position at $36,859.19; the request would fund an additional facilities position, bringing total facilities staffing to three technicians plus janitorial staff. Terry said a state‑licensed journeyman would be preferred and that a reasonable starting pay range to recruit locally would be about $28 to $37 per hour.

Commissioners discussed offsetting savings. Staff noted the county currently spends about $20,000 annually on a contractor (PMG) for HVAC work and that having an in‑house journeyman could reduce those costs over time. The facilities director also recommended using the new employee to train interior staff. Commissioners and staff discussed eliminating a part‑time custodial position that has never been filled; the director recommended cutting that vacancy pending a fuller review after the new director has time in the role, and commissioners agreed to remove the part‑time position from the budget to realize short‑term savings.

Human resources director Mike Savoy presented a personnel adjustment in the sheriff’s office: an equity pay increase for a corporal in the detention facility. Savoy said the request raises the individual’s pay an additional $1.18 per hour (from an earlier proposed $0.69 increase) to better align the corporal’s wage with others in the department. The board agreed these occasional equity adjustments are necessary when pay outliers are identified.

Staff and commissioners also discussed transitioning a grant‑funded position to county funding. Clerk-level staff and department heads said they are pursuing options to extend or reassign remaining grant (G&A) funding and have accounted for $280,000 in grant revenue for FY2026 to offset some positions and project costs. The discussion covered equipment needs (iPad, computer, desk) and use of an already-available fleet vehicle for field work; staff said some equipment costs may be reimbursable under grant agreements and that final funding treatment depends on negotiations with the grant administrator(s).

Mara, the county grant coordinator, outlined Title 3 wildfire mitigation funding. Mara said about $113,000 remains in Title 3 funds and proposed using roughly $50,000 for annual Firewise grants (which typically fund 80–110 acres and award about 40 applicants), and about $58,000 to hire seasonal assessors to update roughly 5,000 unassessed parcels (at an estimated cost of roughly $500 per day for 2–3 assessors). Mara said the remaining funds could be used for outreach (signs, brochures) and a proposed wildfire summit; she and others discussed using PILT (payment in lieu of taxes) as a fallback funding source if Title 3 funding lapses in future years.

Recreation and lease payments were another focus. Director Bingaman asked staff to add a revenue line for a reimbursement the county expects from United Payette for lease payments; staff said the county will create a revenue line for $38,250 that will be used to reimburse lease payments for the Francie Wallace property and related grooming/parking lot leases, plus an additional approximately $7,000 the county expects for other snowmobile/parking leases. Recreation revenues collected this year at several sites (Francie Wallace, Green Gate, Brush Creek) were reported at about $18,000; staff said they will provide a combined income-versus-expense report for recreation sites to ensure fees cover operations.

Other administrative budget adjustments included reducing the county’s projected grant revenue line to a more conservative level (staff suggested reducing grant projections by roughly $1 million from earlier estimates) and adding Lick Creek parking/amenity revenues ($2,500) to the revenue side. Staff said they will refine reports and offer training to commissioners on the software-generated revenue/expense displays to make the budget presentation clearer to the public.

On countywide levy and revenue issues, staff said the county will levy the full 3% plus new construction authority for the coming year, with a proposed levy limit of $10,516,530. Clerk/finance staff said that equates to about $82.25 per $100,000 of assessed value (an approximate $2 decrease from last year’s per‑$100,000 rate), and that the county plans to use carryover and PILT adjustments to backfill general‑fund needs (PILT backfill estimate discussed at $400,000). The clerk recommended publishing the proposed budget and preparing for the Aug. 27 public hearing.

No formal budget adoption occurred at the workshop; staff made a set of minor changes in response to commissioner direction and requested permission to publish the proposed budget for public review.