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Benton County presents balanced 2025–27 budget after $15.1M in cuts; officials flag PERS and reserves
Summary
Benton County administrators presented a proposed 2025–27 biennial budget that initially showed an $11.9M general-fund gap; staff identified $15.1M in reductions, used select reserves and proposed policy changes to produce a balanced budget but warned PERS increases and lower revenue growth will require further adjustments in future bienniums.
County Administrator Rachel McEnany and Assistant County Administrator Rick Krager presented the Benton County proposed 2025–27 budget, saying the county began the process with a substantial current-service-level increase driven by higher labor costs, benefit increases and other structural pressures.
Krager told the committee that the county’s calculated current service-level costs rose roughly 32.2% in some funds driven largely by personal services increases and by one-time implementation decisions in the prior biennium. He cited PERS employer-rate increases as a major long-term driver: the county’s PERS rate had risen substantially and, as presented, the purchase cost was about 56% higher for the next biennium — a figure Krager said equated to nearly $12 million in additional costs across affected funds.
McEnany summarized the administration’s approach to closing the gap that appeared when current service-level estimates…
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