Geary County commissioners publish proposed 2026 budget, set Sept. 8 hearing after step/cola debate

Geary County commissioners voted to publish the proposed 2026 budget and set a public hearing for Sept. 8 at 11 a.m., moving the document into the public-notice process though final adoption remains pending.

Tammy Robinson, the county finance director, presented the budget worksheet and supporting reports, saying the county's ad valorem tax need at this draft stage is $17,000,007.55, which she said equates to 56.301 mills and is 1.644 mills higher than last year. Robinson also explained how recent adjustments

(including moving Juneteenth and Main Street expenses into the CBD fund) affect delinquency postings and related calculations used in the revenue-neutral-rate comparison.

"So right now, with all the adjustments that you've made, we're at $17,000,007.55 for our ad valorem tax needs. That is 56.301 mills that are needed," Robinson said while reviewing the figures.

Why it matters: Publishing the proposed budget commences the formal public-notice period and sets the date for the required public hearing. Commissioners debated avenues to lower the immediate tax impact, including trimming reserves or deferring parts of proposed appropriations.

Major discussion points and options considered

- Salary schedule, COLA and step increases: Commissioners and staff spent an extended period debating whether to keep the existing 3% step structure or to give a smaller cost-of-living allowance (COLA) while freezing steps this year to lower the near-term budget impact. Staff outlined options that would give a COLA now and delay or partially credit step increases in July so employees end up at or near the intended scale over time.

- Reserves: Commissioners discussed forgoing a $100,000 contribution to reserves as one way to shave roughly a third of a mill off the tax rate and preserve employee pay increases.

- Event appropriations and CVB/CBD funding: The county's transient guest tax receipts and assumptions about next-year events (including possible World Cup-related travel) were discussed for their projected impact on CVB/CBD disbursements.

Commission action

A motion to publish the budget for public notice and set the Sept. 8 hearing carried on a voice vote.

What remains: The publication is a procedural step; the commission may still modify the budget after public input and before final adoption. Robinson said staff will post the documents to the newspaper and circulate updated worksheets to the commissioners.

Public takeaways and next steps

Commissioners urged members of the public to review the proposed figures and bring questions to the Sept. 8 hearing. Robinson recommended reviewing individual fund pages rather than the consolidated percentage numbers because some funds include nonbudgeted inflows that skew the overall percent-collected figure.