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Commission outlines tight budget direction for 2026; staff to include IT succession, COLA and conservative revenue assumptions
Summary
Ellis County commissioners directed staff to prepare a conservative 2026 budget closely aligned with 2025 levels, emphasizing limited new hires, continued funding for planned capital items, and an IT succession staffing plan with a one-time estimated cost.
Note: The commission's discussion covered multiple budgetline topics; the meeting record contains detailed numbers and planning directions. The Ellis County Commission and county staff discussed high-level direction for the 2026 budget and instructed department heads to prepare conservative drafts intended to hold county spending close to 2025 levels.
County Administrator Darren Myers said department heads will begin preparing 2026 budget requests and requested commissioners provide high-level guidance. Commissioners discussed an estimated preliminary valuation increase of about 3.3 percent and noted the county should not rely on grant funds as certain revenue. Myers provided rough grant totals discussed at the meeting: approximately $545,381 in federal grants and about $30,000 in state grants, numbers the county cautioned should not be assumed stable.
Commissioners emphasized keeping department staffing largely flat except for a planned IT succession arrangement: the county expects to double-staff the IT director role temporarily to provide training and overlap when the current director retires, with a one-time estimated cost of about $42,000 for roughly four months. Myers said the initial budget draft will also include a 7 percent health insurance estimate and built-in step increases; the county will present a midyear COLA item (2.5 percent per Social Security Administration guidance) for commission approval at a future meeting.
Other capital and program items discussed included a courthouse renovation identified in the capital plan with a rough planning figure of about $1,250,000, continued funding for public works capital needs and communications infrastructure, and a caution to avoid overreaching given possible flat or compressed property valuations in coming years. Commissioners asked staff to produce more granular estimates for bridge and subdivision maintenance needs and to present the first draft of the 2026 budget in June.
