Curry County presents $64.3 million proposed budget, adds four positions; adoption deferred

Curry County commissioners on Thursday reviewed a proposed $64,276,759 budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year that would add four county positions, rely in part on federal O&C timber receipts and transient lodging tax revenue, and postpone formal adoption to allow commissioners time to review the books.

Budget officer Director Fitzgerald presented the fiscal 2025–26 budget message, saying the plan was prepared with assistance from a certified public accountant and county leadership and that “revisions are expected in the coming months to ensure accuracy in projected revenues and expenditures.” The proposal covers the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026, and is $239,023 less than the prior year’s budget, Fitzgerald said.

The proposal lays out multiple fund types, including a general fund for essential services, a road fund for operations and maintenance, special revenue funds for the sheriff’s office and transient lodging tax (TLT) revenues, a towers fund for communications infrastructure, and federal and state grant funds. Director Fitzgerald told commissioners the total budget not including road fund reserves is $26,732,761 and that county revenues will come from federal and state funding, property taxes, fees and grants.