Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the 2026 Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident flags security, credit-card fees and revenue shortfalls in Delaware County 2026 budget public hearing
Summary
At a public hearing on the county's 2026 tentative budget, Roslyn Williams of Walton raised concerns about a new security contract line, a jump in credit-card expense, low expected revenue for certain services and potential insurance shortfalls, asking how the county will cover deficits.
At a public hearing on the 2026 tentative budget, Roslyn Williams of the Town of Walton urged the county to explain several apparent shortfalls and new expenses she said appear in the draft plan.
"In 2024, there was $239,000 budgeted. In '25, there was $511,000 budgeted. I noticed in '26 ... our current budget figure ... is 0," Williams said, pointing to a new line item she identified as building security that she understood could rise to about $704,000 in 2026. She said the line looks like a new separate contract instead of an ongoing charge.
Williams also pressed the county on the treasurer's "credit cards" line, which she said rises to $50,000 from about $13,000 in the previous year. "Those are companies that would charge the credit card holder instead of the rest of the taxpayers having to pick up that difference," she said, naming payment processors such as ValuePay and Forte as alternatives she urged officials to consider.
She raised revenue shortfalls as well. Williams said the county has budgeted roughly $108,000 in certain search-related revenues but observed it typically collects closer to $17,000. "So, I wonder, how that shortfall is going to be accounted for," she said, adding concerns about unallocated county insurance costs and recent inter-budget transfers she described as near $1,000,000.
Williams also pointed to repeated budget modifications in Road & Bridge that she predicted could increase appropriations and leave the 2026 budget with a multimillion-dollar shortfall if not adjusted. "Total appropriations ... dollars $18,000,000. The revenue modifications were $13,000,000, and that's gonna leave us at a shortfall of $4,500,000 in this budget alone," she said.
The public hearing was a comment-only period; the chair noted the session was not a live Q&A. Williams concluded her remarks by asking that her comments be placed on the record.
What happens next: The public hearing was closed and the body proceeded into its regular meeting. Budget adoption later on the agenda (Resolution 203) followed the public comment period; the transcript does not record staff responses to the specific line-item questions Williams raised during her remarks.
