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County administrative officer previews Broadwater County FY26 budget; staff say reserve use will fall
Summary
Bill Jarocki, Broadwater County administrative officer, presented a multi-department budget overview showing a $10.2 million draft for FY26 (down from $14.9 million, driven by one-time FAA airport grant spending in the prior year), revenue breakdowns, and a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment in proposed expenses.
Bill Jarocki, Broadwater County administrative officer, briefed commissioners June 25 on preliminary development of the county’s fiscal year 2026 budget and said a more detailed presentation will be offered at a public hearing next week.
Jarocki said the county’s aggregated budget in the materials shown is roughly $10.2 million, lower than the prior year’s $14.9 million because a sizable FAA airport grant that inflated the previous year’s spending is being spent down. He said the county uses last year’s market and mill values to conservatively project property-tax revenue and that the budget process has shifted toward a near–zero-based approach with quarterly department reviews.
Jarocki provided a revenue breakdown in the presentation: about $2.5 million from floating mills (property-tax revenue under the county levy), roughly $5.5 million from other revenue sources, $730,000 from permitted special property-tax levies, and roughly 7% from entitlement share. He said the county plans to use approximately $609,000 from general-fund cash reserves for FY26 — about $274,000 less than the $883,000 used in the prior year.
On expenditures, Jarocki said the FY26 draft includes a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment for personnel. He noted that personnel and operations account for large shares of the budget: about 61% for personnel costs and about 39% for operations and maintenance. Jarocki also displayed department-level charts and sparklines showing five years of budget-to-actual history to help set realistic expenditure targets.
Commissioners praised the presentation and asked that the charts be posted on the county website for public view. Public commenter Craig Vietz asked whether the charts would be posted; Jarocki said they would be prepared in a digestible format and placed online.
Why it matters: The FY26 draft shows the county reducing reliance on reserves compared with the prior year and continuing a budgeting approach intended to match expenditures more closely to need; commissioners will consider the detailed budget at a public hearing next week.
