Unidentified speaker: Residents raised concerns about a proposed use of county funds and a lack of transparency during the public comment period, and county officials announced a public hearing on the 2026 budget.

A public commenter said the county has delivered housing units but warned against an "opaque process" for using county dollars, saying, "These are the very monies that Commissioner Winfield proposed to use for this loan to private developers." The speaker urged the commission to adopt formal policies and procedures to govern disbursement of county funds and recommended working with local housing organizations the speaker named in the transcript as "Hasseo" and "Mackle." (Transcript spelling preserved.)

Mary O'Brien, who spoke during the same public comment period, criticized the commission's transparency and accountability and raised specific questions about proposed increases in commissioners' travel budgets. O'Brien cited an example of a proposed jump "from $3,000 to $7,500" for one commissioner, a change "from $7,000 to $7,500" for Commissioner Winfield, and $4,500 for Commissioner McCurdy. "I just think the sense of transparency of this commission is really low," O'Brien said, urging that the county require reports documenting who commissioners meet with and what issues they work on when using county funds for travel.

The moderator announced that the county will hold a public hearing on the 2026 budget Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2025, at 6:17 p.m. and that written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. The announcement said budget documents are available at the Grand County Clerk's Office, 125 East Center Street, Moab, and on the county website on the clerk-auditor page.

A staff member invited the public to review the PDF budget files, noting they include linked department-level budgets, narrative descriptions and past-year expenditures, and said staff will prepare a summary presentation ahead of adoption. The staff member also said there will be "budget workshops on the eighth and ninth in the morning" and provided a contact email (gboytech@grantcountyutah.gov) for follow-up questions; the staff remarks did not specify the month for those workshops.

No formal votes or motions were recorded in the transcript. The moderator concluded by adjourning the meeting after soliciting additional comments.

The county's next steps as recorded in the transcript: written comments due by 5 p.m. on Dec. 10, 2025; public hearing scheduled for Dec. 22, 2025, at 6:17 p.m.; staff to prepare a budget summary presentation and hold workshops on the dates described above.