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County administrator presents first draft of the 2026 general fund budget; commissioners warned of tight margin vs. revenue-neutral rate
Summary
The county administrator presented the first draft of the 2026 budget showing modest revenue increases but indicating the draft would likely exceed the revenue-neutral mill rate without reductions. Key inclusions: a 7% health-insurance cost allowance, step increases for employees and continued transfers for roadwork.
Darren Myers, Ellis County administrator, presented the commission with the first draft of the county’s 2026 general fund budget on June 3, describing revenue and expenditure projections and highlighting items that could affect the county’s mill levy.
Myers said the draft shows total general revenues of about $30.4 million, an increase of roughly $640,000 from the prior year, and proposed general fund expenditures of about $33.3 million, an increase of roughly $661,000. He said the county’s unencumbered cash rollover improved to about $4.8 million.
The draft budget includes a 7% allowance for rising health insurance premiums and provision for a step increase in January 2026 and a contingency line for a possible cost-of-living adjustment later in the year. The draft maintains a $1.6 million transfer to the highway fund to support road maintenance and funds for the asphalt maintenance plan approved in prior years.
Myers said that based on early valuation estimates the draft sits slightly above a revenue-neutral mill levy; county staff estimated the draft would need roughly $750,000 in cuts to reach the revenue-neutral rate and a smaller reduction to remain at the current mill. He warned that some major items remain unresolved, including potential contract attorney funding for court-appointed work, a transition to a cloud-based 9-1-1 system and outside-agency funding requests that total several hundred thousand dollars.
Commissioners were briefed on other budget issues: continued funding for communications staffing associated with the 9-1-1 center, possible facility remodeling after law-enforcement relocation, solid-waste contract renewal planning and potential tarp-load policy fees for the landfill. Myers said the budget is preliminary and will be refined as appraised valuations are finalized and further department and outside-agency requests are resolved.
Commissioners agreed department heads had provided disciplined budgets and noted the coming months will require difficult choices to align the budget with levy goals.
