Hamilton County commissioners weigh personnel and capital cuts to close $4 million shortfall

Hamilton County commissioners spent a budget work session reviewing options to close about a $4 million shortfall in the county's 2026 plan, with staff and department heads outlining how personnel decisions, capital project timing and reappropriations could affect the county's bottom line.

County staff said the largest single lever under discussion was personnel: pausing all new positions would reduce estimated personnel costs by roughly $3 million. Commissioners and staff also discussed changing the two-step pay movement adopted for many departments so that some employees would receive only one step this cycle, which staff estimated could save about $1 million.

The commissioners heard department-level briefings that supplied context for those options. Highway and capital projects managers described shifting letting dates and larger-than-projected bridge estimates that will affect cash flow; parks staff detailed grant‑backed projects and required local matches; and the solid waste and health departments described a mix of dedicated levy funding, separate special‑district accounting and facility constraints that limit immediate budget flexibility. Commissioners requested prioritized scenarios from staff for presentation the following morning.

Why it matters: The session focused on near-term actions that would avoid tax‑rate increases while keeping projects and core services funded. Commissioners repeatedly emphasized trying options that preserve essential maintenance and public‑safety capacity while pushing discretionary or deferrable work into later years.

What staff reported and what commissioners asked - Personnel: County staff said a plan to add new positions in multiple departments would cost roughly $3 million; eliminating those additions is the single largest immediate savings option discussed. Separately, staff proposed limiting two‑step salary moves for certain groups so employees move only a single step; that change and a related first‑year step adjustment were estimated to reduce payroll cost by about $1 million. - Reappropriations and reversions: Staff reported they would reappropriate $2.5 million from 2025 into 2026 for multi‑year projects that slid, and that roughly $3.1 million would be returned to Fund 1138 from projects not proceeding this year. Staff also said about $1 million earmarked for utility relocations on a Sheridan project could be deappropriated and revert back to county funds. - Highway and bridges: Highway staff said the county maintains a five‑year capital plan with recurring major‑bridge expenditures and that average annual major bridge costs in their model are about $67 million. A recently discussed Hazeldale bridge letting is estimated at about $37.5 million, higher than prior bonding projections (county staff had earlier discussed a $22 million capacity estimate for a different project). Commissioners asked for a cash‑flow projection and debt‑service impact analysis to see how to program big projects without destabilizing funds. - Parks and capital projects: Parks staff outlined several large items in the 2026 request, including a 45,000‑square‑foot indoor archery facility financed with a federal 90/10 grant that requires a local match (staff identified approximately $1.2 million in local match or additional funding needs). Parks flagged a $6 million proposed administrative building and the recently appropriated $1.5 million for the 7‑Streams project as high‑priority capital items that commissioners might consider deferring or reprioritizing. - Solid waste and household hazardous waste (HHW): The Solid Waste Management presenter said the program runs on a dedicated portion of the property tax levy and local income tax rather than general fund revenue. The solid waste board approved a $245,000 annual lease payment that would flow from solid waste funds into the county general fund; the board vote was not unanimous and the lease's term was not available at the meeting. - Health department: The health department director described space constraints that limit hiring despite service demand, a roughly $4 million cash reserve that includes $500,000–$600,000 in remaining COVID‑reimbursement funds, and operational impacts from losing dedicated chemical storage (vector control staff must now buy smaller, more expensive supply quantities).

Process and next steps Commissioners directed staff to prepare prioritized scenarios for the caucus meeting the following morning. Staff were asked to produce a cash‑flow timetable for major highway projects and to identify which capital projects have federal or other matches that make them less easy to defer. Commissioners said they preferred fiscal options that avoid immediate tax increases and that protect maintenance and public‑safety work where possible.

Context and limits of authority Several presenters and commissioners noted limits on county authority: some projects are controlled by outside agencies (for example, a Fisher's project whose MPO funding moved and affected county participation), and federal‑aid projects require matching and have fixed timelines that constrain deferral options.

Taper: Commissioners called a caucus to finalize options so staff could return with clear scenarios (option sets A/B/C) and dollar impacts for action later in the budget cycle.