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County begins 2026 budget schedule as administrators warn of state-level uncertainty and community-corrections funding cuts
Summary
County staff presented a proposed calendar for the 2026 Saline County budget and warned commissioners of state-level uncertainty over property-tax measures and reduced community-corrections funding under a revised KDOC formula.
County administration presented a proposed schedule to develop and adopt the 2026 Saline County budget and updated commissioners on state legislative activity that could affect local property tax policy and department funding.
The proposed budget calendar was aligned to the county27s regular meeting schedule and included a joint meeting with the City of Salina on March 24 to discuss allocation agencies. County staff asked commissioners for ideas to increase public input on the budget process after a low response rate to last year27s outreach effort.
County Administrator Phil (surname not specified on the record) reported that last Thursday was the legislature27s turnaround day and that several competing constitutional-amendment proposals on property valuation remain in play. He warned that last-minute state action to reduce property taxes could affect local collections and would likely be enacted in a rushed manner if it occurs.
Phil also updated the board on Community Corrections funding. He said the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) had proposed a new funding formula that previously would have reduced local adult-program funding by about $450,000 over three years for the 28th Judicial District (Saline and Ottawa counties). Following stakeholder input, KDOC released a revised formula that added crime-rate and poverty-rate factors and reduced the projected cut to about $288,000 over three years. County staff said they have scheduled a meeting in Topeka with the KDOC secretary for March 6 to discuss the impact.
In an earlier consent vote, commissioners approved a consent agenda that included multiple items: tax-roll adjustments, accounts payable, payroll, township annual reports for 2024, cemetery district annual reports for 2024, minutes for 02/10/2025 and 02/11/2025 and several state grant-related items including the Central Kansas Regional Public Health Preparedness Grant for SFY26 and multiple community corrections FY26 KDOC grants. The board approved the consent agenda on a unanimous voice vote.
Commissioners also discussed property-tax exemptions being considered in the legislature for certain equipment or facilities, including an earlier House move about a 10-year exemption for battery facilities; county leaders said they were monitoring those proposals and their potential local revenue impacts.
No formal budget decisions were adopted on Tuesday; staff will bring a five-year financial forecast at a subsequent meeting and move into formal budget review as scheduled.
