Clerk presents $102 million FY26 budget for Bannock County, including roughly $1.09 million in personnel changes

Bannock County commissioners on Friday heard the county clerk’s recommended fiscal year 2026 budget, a proposal the clerk’s office presented at a public commission meeting that would total about $102,000,001.69 and include personnel pay adjustments, added health-insurance funding, reductions to some program contributions and several roll‑forward capital projects.

Krista Klaus, Bannock County comptroller, told commissioners, “You have the full budget in front of you,” and outlined the clerk’s recommendation, including step increases, targeted salary adjustments and changes to how some staff are paid.

The clerk’s recommendation funds step increases for non‑law‑enforcement employees who were eligible and approves year‑three salary increases for sheriff, jail and court‑marshal staff. Klaus said the jail and court related salary adjustments cost about $382,000 and that graded promotions or adjustments for 22 employees cost about $197,000. The package also recommends a 3% salary adjustment for the five elected officials not otherwise addressed (commissioners, clerk, assessor, treasurer and coroner) and their chief deputies; Klaus gave that cost as about $26,000. The county would add a field‑training‑officer (FTO) training line for the sheriff’s jail ($25,000) and make lieutenant positions and the sheriff’s veil positions exempt from overtime while providing a compensating pay adjustment.

Klaus summarized the personnel totals as $906,270 in salary changes, $181,002.50 in associated benefits, and a combined personnel cost of about $1,087,272.50.

The budget also increases department contributions to the county health plan. Departments’ pooled contribution was budgeted at about $6.6 million for the current year and the clerk’s recommendation raises that to $7.0 million for FY26 to cover health‑insurance cost pressures. The recommended per‑employee health cost rises from about $16,006 to about $17,857, which the comptroller said increases costs by roughly $300,000 countywide. To bolster the health insurance trust, the clerk’s recommendation moves $700,000 from the general fund, $700,000 from the justice fund and $200,000 from Road and Bridge into the trust.

Klaus said the clerk’s recommendation reduces some discretionary contributions. The county’s required juvenile detention contribution drops by roughly $18,000 under the current court projections; the recommended budget reduces payments to the indigent fund by about $170,000 because reserves have declined. Public defense rent requested at $165,000 would be covered in part by $90,000 in grant funds, with the remaining amount to come from the indigent fund, the comptroller said. An identified contingency for conflict‑attorney needs (parental‑rights cases) was included as a placeholder but described as uncertain.

Capital and project changes include rolling forward several large items. The clerk’s recommendation rolls forward $170,000 to complete the jail generator, reduces the scale‑house project estimate to about $3.5 million, and defers the Road and Bridge roof until October. The clerk said the county will not fund the event center and wellness complex this year, but will contribute $1,000,000 to the Bannock County events fund to help with cash flow for seasonal concerts. Several smaller capital requests were trimmed or delayed, including a proposed enclosed ATV, a storage‑shed request and a courtroom remodel that the clerk recommended delaying one year.

The presentation noted a large reduction in expected grant project rollovers versus the prior year because most ARPA projects are completed; Klaus said the clerk’s office anticipates rolling forward about $1 million in ARPA project funds into FY26. The clerk’s recommendation therefore budgets less in grants overall than FY25, returning grant budgeting to a more typical $2 million–$4 million range in future years.

On property tax and levy issues, the clerk’s recommendation uses the full 3% permitted inflationary increase plus new construction for property‑tax revenue in most county budgets, which the comptroller said would still lower the county’s levy rate by about $15.44 per $100,000 of taxable value (before homeowners’ tax relief). The county tax request in the recommendation totals about $33,744,994 compared with about $32,000,003 in FY25, with a projected taxable value change reflected in the per‑$100,000 example provided to commissioners.

Klaus framed reserves and one‑time funding items: the FY26 recommendation uses reserves for several large projects. The general fund is projected to use about $9.7 million in reserves while leaving excess reserves of roughly $20 million, she said, and the clerk cautioned that reserves are for one‑time uses and not ongoing operating costs.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the levy, the timing of rolled‑forward projects and when departments must respond if they object to the clerk’s recommendation. The clerk’s office asked departments to come to the commission on Monday or Tuesday if they want changes; Klaus said staff will post department request sheets online and that the board will need final decisions quickly if they want to alter levy uses or fund additional items without finding offsets.

Klaus concluded, “Now it’s in your hands,” and said staff will circulate the detailed sheets to departments and post them online.

Ending

The clerk’s recommendation is scheduled for further review at the commission’s upcoming meetings; departments that objected were asked to appear early in the week so the board could consider adjustments before adopting a final FY26 budget. No formal motions or votes were recorded during the presentation.