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Commissioners begin budget review; staff told to seek cuts and pause CIP interest transfer
Summary
In an initial work session on the 2026 budget, commissioners were presented with a proposed 11% increase driven by lower revenue and higher costs. Commissioners instructed staff to seek service cuts, protect COLA, and pause a planned transfer of interest revenue to the CIP to improve the general fund position.
Riley County's budget and finance officer on June 26 presented an initial draft of the 2026 budget showing an estimated total expenditure plan of roughly $58.35 million and revenues of about $22.24 million as the county begins its budget process.
Budget Officer Britney Phillips said the county had modeled a 2.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and included requests for new positions totaling about $312,320. Staff also proposed a $3,500,000 transfer to the capital improvements plan (CIP) to cover debt obligations and nonfunded 2026 CIP requests.
Commissioners reacted to a projected 11% increase from the prior year and directed staff to prioritize ways to reduce the budget gap while protecting COLA for current employees. Commissioners suggested starting with program and service reductions rather than cutting employee compensation; they asked department heads to review services and identify potential reductions.
Budget staff and the county counselor discussed interest income and transfers: staff flagged that a substantial transfer of interest into the CIP had been a prior-year practice and proposed pausing that transfer for 2026 as a one-time measure to increase general fund revenue by about $1 million. Commissioners agreed to pause transferring a portion of interest income to CIP for the current cycle and to have staff present revised numbers.
The commission asked for follow-up work by the budget finance committee and department heads and requested more detailed proposals on staffing changes, discretionary programs, and fee-based adjustments. No final appropriations were adopted at the session.
