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Audit and finance review shows small 2026 budget changes; commissioners shown debt schedule and $2.5M cap outlay request
Summary
County audit and finance staff presented a largely flat departmental budget for 2026, noted small decreases in debt service until larger drop-offs in 2027 and 2028, and asked commissioners to consider increasing capital outlay transfers to $2.5 million for 2026 — with the elections office cited as a major capital need.
An audit and finance presenter summarized Shawnee County’s 2026 proposed budget for audit and finance functions, debt service and general expenses and showed a debt schedule with modest near-term reductions and larger drops in 2027 and 2028 as certain bond issuances mature.
The presenter said audit-finance’s base budget is “flat other than the MSA 1 increases in 2026” and noted a small reduction in debt-service costs in the 2026 projection. She reviewed a debt schedule showing minimal debt falling off in 2025–26 and said the “large drop off comes in 2027” when a couple of general-obligation bond issuances are paid off; a certificate of participation is scheduled to fall off in 2028.
She also identified a set of modest savings in general expenses — about $121,000 from printing, advertising and postage — and said insurance estimates were rising 5%–9% but that prior-year budgeting meant the county needed only about a $100,000 increase for 2026 insurance costs.
Capital outlay: The presenter requested increasing the county’s capital-outlay transfer to $2,500,000 in the 2026 budget (up from the $2,000,001 figure that resulted from prior reductions) and reiterated the ongoing $250,000 annual transfer to a roof-and-parking fund to maintain county properties. She specifically noted the elections office as a “heavy hitter” for capital outlay in 2026 and suggested the county could use excess reserves for some election costs to avoid drawing the entire amount from cap outlay funds.
Clarifying details: The presenter said the county’s 2027–28 debt relief is driven by retiring bond issuances and a certificate of participation (COP) timing; she described the coroner contract’s 5% annual increase as the final year of a three-year contract. She also flagged that the county replaced the courthouse roof from the roof-and-parking fund and that fund’s balance should be monitored.
Next steps: The commission will review the capital-outlay increase request as part of the county’s broader budget decisions and consider whether to use excess reserves for election-related capital costs or to allocate the full requested transfer.
