The Linn County Board of Supervisors preliminarily approved fiscal year 2026 appropriations for four county budgets during a Dec. 13 budget and finance meeting at the Gene Oxley Public Service Center.

Sarah Barrows, Linn County budget director, told the board the risk management budget was “over guidelines by $5,000” and that most operating costs are covered by a transfer from the county’s self-retained fund. Barrows and staff corrected a typographical figure during discussion and the board approved the preliminary risk-management appropriations stated at $438,566 and revenues of $437,866.

Risk Manager Steve Essenson said the $5,000 increase addressed higher costs for medical physicals and drug screening tied to more frequent hiring and certain job requirements; he also described maintenance problems with a 2013 department vehicle and requested roughly $55,000 for a 3/4-ton truck that could tow an emergency-response trailer and be shared with other departments. Essenson also briefed the board on a departmental KPI: the county’s injury-rate target is 4.2 (the local-government industry standard); he said Linn County was below 4.2 in FY23, a little above last year and is budgeting to return to 4.2 next year.

The board then approved a soil conservation appropriation request of $291,840 and revenues of $143,514. Presenters said much of the increase in grant-funded expenditures (from about $101,006 in FY25 to $143,005 in FY26) reflects contract labor for a cover-crop project. Dawn (first name only) and John (first name only) said the plan would reimburse local co-ops for seed at an estimated $15 per acre for roughly 4,000 acres; the state grant that will fund the work was described as replacing a federal NRCS grant that ended earlier in the year.

Barrows said court administration has been consistently over budget; she increased the guideline by $30,000 and noted a recent $35,000 transfer. The board approved preliminary court administration appropriations of $68,500. Barrows warned that appeals and associated bills can span multiple years and that an additional amendment in the spring was likely.

On juvenile justice, Barrows said the county’s base payment to the Office of the State Public Defender accounts for most of the $214,442 appropriation; she budgeted $181,942 for the public defender payment and $32,500 for hearing, publication and witness costs. The board preliminarily approved the juvenile justice appropriation.

All four preliminary appropriations were approved by voice vote after motions from the meeting chair and seconding by other supervisors. The approvals are preliminary appropriations; additional adjustments or amendments were discussed as possible at a later date.

Actions recorded at the meeting include preliminary approvals for risk management ($438,566 appropriation; revenues $437,866), soil conservation ($291,840 appropriation; revenues $143,514), court administration ($68,500 appropriation) and juvenile justice ($214,442 appropriation).