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Allegany County adopts FY2026 budget; income tax rises to secure state disparity funds
Summary
County adopts a $147.7 million FY2026 operating and capital budget, includes 2% COLA for employees, no property tax increase, and an income tax rise from 3.03% to 3.20% to qualify for state disparity funding.
Administrator Bennett presented the fiscal year 2026 operating and capital budget and the commissioners adopted it after a short presentation.
Bennett said the budget "includes no increase in property taxes" while noting the county will raise its income tax rate from 3.03% to 3.20% beginning Jan. 1, 2026, "in order to qualify for over 5,700,000.0 in additional state funding disparity grant in accordance with state formula." The resolution adopting the budget was read into the record and approved by the commission.
The FY2026 budget totals $147,717,558, according to Bennett's presentation. The package includes a 2% cost-of-living increase for county employees, a 9% increase in the general fund, an estimated $7.2 million in disparity grant funding, and a supplemental disparity grant of $815,000 related to a teacher pension shift. Bennett said the county plans to use $3.1 million of fund balance and $2.6 million of reserved lottery proceeds for capital projects.
Bennett also referenced a 05/27/2004 court ruling by Judge Gary Lager in explaining the county's tax differential formula and how the levy is applied.
Ending: The commissioners approved the budget and related tax actions and directed staff to publish the budget and capital improvement documents on the county website.
