Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Cumberland County proposes 7.74% tax-rate increase for 2025–26 budget, driven by jail, insurance and IT costs
Summary
County staff presented a proposed FY2025–26 budget that would raise county tax needs by about 7.74%, citing large increases in jail costs, health insurance and IT/body-camera storage; staff said the jail portion would exceed a 4% statutory cap unless commissioners authorize an override.
County manager Jim McGailey told the Cumberland County Finance Committee on Nov. 19 that staff would present a difficult budget for fiscal year 2025–26 that would raise county tax needs by roughly 7.74%.
"None of us are happy with the budget," McGailey said, as he outlined revenue pressures and expense increases that left staff with few alternatives. Key drivers, he said, include higher health-insurance costs (about an 11% increase), a roughly 15% rise in workers' compensation, expanding IT and software subscription costs, and new charges to retain and manage body-camera footage.
McGailey told the committee the proposed budget would include a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for nonunion employees and that four county bargaining units will be under negotiation in the coming year. He said the county is budgeting $47,000 to expand server/storage capacity for body-camera evidence and…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
