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Valley County budget workshop: commissioners review L2 worksheet, proposed budgets and staffing changes
Summary
At a budget workshop, Valley County commissioners reviewed the state tax commission L2 worksheet and departmental budget proposals. Staff presented levy capacity calculations and proposed staffing and program changes, and commissioners directed several follow-ups including adjusting patrol staffing and consolidating nonprofit grants.
Valley County commissioners held a budget workshop during which staff reviewed the state tax commission L2 worksheet, departmental budget proposals and several staffing and funding requests for fiscal year 2026.
The county's clerk's office told commissioners the L2 worksheet showed the county could levy the full 3% increase plus new construction, producing $301,169 from the 3% and $209,656 from new construction for a combined additional capacity of $510,825. The clerk said the total property tax levy capacity across all funds would be $10,516,531. The clerk presented a proposed general fund budget of $19,065,844.67 and said the county would need approximately $3,600,000 in cash forward; the proposed general fund levy amount was $7,919,273.28, about $500,000 higher than last year.
Staff told commissioners projected county revenue is down about 1.53 percent year over year, driven largely by reductions in grant revenue. Department-level changes included steep increases in benefit-related expenses: countywide benefits were projected to rise (retirement ~4%, Social Security ~7.73%, medical insurance ~6.45%, unemployment projected to rise by ~33%, workers' comp ~4%), which staff said increases the long-term cost of adding new positions.
Clerk Miller reviewed the clerk's proposed budget, noting a roughly 10% increase driven mainly by a higher hourly rate for an existing public relations position and by an elections staff member completing a certified election coordinator certificate. Commissioners discussed whether the public relations position should be administratively moved under the commissioners' office rather than remain in the clerk's office.
Salary policy for elected officials was raised. Commissioners discussed creating a future policy to account for tenure-based salary differences and possible modest compensation for the chairman role; staff agreed to draft language for future consideration.
The sheriff's office requested two new patrol positions as part of a five-year staffing plan. Commissioners said staffing turnover and vehicle and equipment costs merited caution; they directed staff to reduce the proposed addition to one new patrol deputy for fiscal year 2026 and asked the sheriff's office to provide a vehicle and mileage breakdown before adding further positions. Equipment and vehicle replacement costs were not included in the staffing request, commissioners said.
Other departmental items discussed: IT was shown with a 13% reduction overall after a roll-forward to a new Tyler software implementation; county staff said a $125,000 upgrade for Tyler (financials and payroll modules) was included. Juvenile detention costs were budgeted with a contingency ($35,000) because daily per-diem costs were uncertain; staff said current Ada County per-diem was roughly $236 a day and expected to increase. The clerk also proposed consolidating previously separate nonprofit contribution lines into a single nonprofit grant contribution line of $200,000, to be distributed via a grant process with accountability requirements.
Commissioners discussed funding for economic development (a proposed $75,000 contribution and a separate grant line for other projects), University of Idaho extension, fairgrounds capital improvements and facilities maintenance. The fairgrounds budget and levy were debated, including whether the county or the fairboard owns equipment such as tractors and bleachers; staff said they would research the purchase history and bring that information back.
On fire mitigation, staff proposed a new position to be funded in part by a grant (GNA/infrastructure line projected at $280,000 that would include field work and salary reimbursement). Commissioners agreed to include the existing position for Mara in the county budget and seek grant reimbursement for a new position to be supported by the grant.
Staff told commissioners that more workshop time would be needed and requested follow-up information on vehicle mileages, fairgrounds equipment ownership, grant specifics and final L2 worksheet paperwork from the assessor and state tax commission. The clerk's office said it would prepare revised worksheets and incorporate commissioner direction for the next budget meeting.
