Belknap County restores outside-agency funding, forwards 2026 budget after presentations from conservation district and extension

Belknap County commissioners voted unanimously this meeting to increase county funding for two outside agencies and to forward the county’s recommended 2026 budget with those changes for delegation review.

The decisions followed lengthy presentations from the Belknap County Conservation District and the Belknap County Cooperative Extension. Conservation district volunteers explained they had used previously restricted grant dollars to cover operations, placed their sole paid employee on a reduced schedule and scaled back programs including stream restoration work, an equipment-leasing program and a gleaning program that collects surplus farm food for residents. "We're pretty much dead in the water," said Ray Demar, a supervisor with the Belknap County Conservation District, describing the district's reduced capacity to pursue and administer grants without county administrative match.

Laurie, the county finance presenter, told commissioners the county projects a general fund revenue surplus and an overall fund-balance position that will carry into 2026, and she highlighted department-level variances and CMS audit activity affecting nursing-home collections. Those numbers framed commissioners’ willingness to consider restoring outside-agency funding pending delegation review.

Commissioner Hodges moved to increase the conservation-district appropriation by $35,000 (moving the county recommendation toward a roughly $60,000 total level on the record); the motion was seconded and approved unanimously. Commissioners asked the district to prepare concrete examples and handouts documenting services lost and the local impact so the county delegation can review them in January.

Cooperative Extension representatives described similar impacts after a 50% cut in county support: the county forester position was removed, in‑person programming and technical visits declined sharply, and local education and farm outreach were curtailed. Extension staff committed to providing finalized program metrics in December. Commissioner Hodges moved to increase the county funding level for Cooperative Extension on the record; that motion was seconded and carried unanimously. Commissioners directed staff and outside-agency leaders to prepare written materials for the legislative delegation’s January review.

The commissioners then voted to forward the 2026 recommended budget — with the two funding adjustments — to the next steps in the review process. The vote was unanimous.

What happens next: commissioners and the outside agencies were urged to bring concrete examples, participant counts and documented service losses to the delegation hearings. The county’s recommended budget will be considered by the delegation in the coming weeks; any final restorations will depend on that process.