Allegany County previews FY26 budget, commissioners vote to hold property tax rate flat

At a public preliminary budget hearing, county finance staff presented a $113,000,696.28 budget outlook for fiscal year 2026 and outlined revenue and expenditure changes that shaped the draft plan. After discussion, the Board of Commissioners voted to rescind a previously advertised 2¢ real-property tax increase and keep the current rate unchanged for FY26.

The presentation by Mr. Bent, the budget presenter, laid out key revenue drivers and cost pressures: an estimated $4.7 million increase in property tax revenue (driven by roughly 6% assessment growth and the proposed 2¢ rate that commissioners later pulled), a projected decline of $816,000 in state disparity grant tied to a teacher pension shift, and anticipated increases in employee health insurance and pension contributions. “I—d caution that you never wanna use any fund balance,” Mr. Bent told commissioners when explaining the county—s planned use of reserves; he also said staff had budgeted about…