Cole County budget review highlights IT, opioid and ARPA transitions

County commissioners spent the Dec. 3 session reviewing department budget requests and revenue assumptions for 2026, with staff flagging rising subscription and cybersecurity costs that are reshaping operating budgets.

The budget officer and IT staff told commissioners that internet and managed-service contracts have increased substantially since 2021 and that migration from on‑premises servers to subscription cloud services (including Microsoft licensing) will add recurring costs. Staff said one-time capital asks include $340,000 for computer replacements and $200,000 for a phone-system upgrade; cloud migration could raise annual IT spending by an estimated $60,000–$80,000 once fully implemented.

Commission staff also reviewed nonrecurring funding sources: ARPA-funded projects are nearing final payments in 2026 and any remaining ARPA interest earnings could be moved into general revenue next year. Separately, the county is budgeting conservatively for opioid-settlement receipts, using a working assumption of about $100,000 a year while noting potential for additional settlements. The auditor and budget staff will provide updated revenue figures in early December to confirm whether to annualize recent receipts or keep a conservative flat projection.

Commissioners pressed for clearer breakouts of internal administrative chargebacks and for documentation showing what is included in the proposed computer-services charge. The budget office agreed to run alternate scenarios (for example, a flat COLA with a small fixed supplement) before formally adopting next week; the county’s final budget deadline is Jan. 15.

The commission took no final votes during the Dec. 3 meeting; it recessed to continue budget deliberations next week.