Marion County budget committee approves $743.3 million spending plan, sets $3.0252 tax rate

The Marion County Budget Committee approved the county’s 2025–26 proposed budget and forwarded it to the Marion County Board of Commissioners for adoption, and the committee recommended an ad valorem property tax rate of $3.0252 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The adopted budget totals $743,294,651 and reflects a mix of ongoing operating needs, large capital programs and one-time federal and state grants. Jan Fritz, Marion County chief administrative officer and budget officer, told the committee the plan “sustains current levels for departments” while accommodating board priority decision packages and a number of one-time projects funded with federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and other grant sources.

Why it matters: The budget includes the county’s general fund and dozens of department programs that deliver public safety, health and human services, infrastructure and administrative services countywide. Committee discussion focused on rising personnel costs, the county’s long-term fiscal health, and how state and federal policy changes could affect revenues and program eligibility.

Most important takeaways - Budget total and tax rate: The committee endorsed the budget at $743.29 million and recommended a property tax levy of $3.0252 per $1,000 of assessed value; both items were forwarded to the Board of Commissioners for final adoption. (Motion and second recorded in public meeting; committee voted to approve.) - Cost drivers: County leaders said steadily rising personnel costs — including wage increases, health-insurance cost sharing and PERS employer rate increases — are the largest single pressure on the general fund over the next biennium. - One-time funding and transitions: ARPA and other federal grants funded major community recovery projects and interest income tied to ARPA balances has supported the budget; those one-time sources decline over the next two fiscal years, the budget office warned, increasing fiscal pressure. - Major systems and capital priorities: The budget includes funding for a countywide ERP (enterprise resource planning) modernization (Oracle Fusion in the cloud) to replace legacy systems, and capital programs that include North Fork Road landslide stabilization, ferry operations and Canyon-area…