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Pulaski County commissioners review draft budget as attorney fees, insurance and audits rise
Summary
County commissioners reviewed a draft 2026 budget that increases attorney fees and insurance costs, reflects higher State Board of Accounts audit charges and continues to hold riverboat and ARPA appropriations under review.
Pulaski County commissioners spent the meeting reviewing the draft 2026 budget, identifying attorney fees, group insurance and outside audit costs as the largest upward pressures while discussing riverboat fund use and American Rescue Plan (ARPA) spending deadlines.
The draft proposes increasing the county attorney budget from about $76,000 to roughly $79,000, reflecting a roughly 10% rise in legal spending. Commissioners also discussed a recommended 12% increase to the county’s group insurance line after insurers reported higher renewal rates this year.
Commissioners and staff flagged the State Board of Accounts audits as a separate budget pressure. The county budget shows $50,000 budgeted for audits in one line, with actual audit expenses in the most recent year reported at about $73,579; staff said the higher bill reflects increased audit activity following the distribution of COVID-relief funds to many local entities.
County leaders left the riverboat fund unchanged in the draft at $100,000 of appropriation for the coming year while noting that past uses of riverboat revenue have been broad and sometimes difficult to trace without further review. Commissioners discussed that some riverboat funds were expended late in the previous year and that the fund’s allowable uses stem from how the original resolution was written.
On federal relief dollars, staff reiterated that ARPA funds must be paid out by 2026 and showed existing appropriations to deputies, equipment and an ambulance purchase as examples of items the county expects to charge to ARPA. Commissioners emphasized that ARPA expenditures must be invoiced and paid before the statutory deadline in order to qualify.
Other smaller program-level adjustments noted in the draft include proposed increases in line items for county fire departments and a request to leave modest balances in some grant or regional program accounts in case of future obligations.
Commissioners asked staff to return with additional detail on several line items and recommended keeping contingency amounts for multi-county or grant-funded initiatives.
