Belknap County budget-review staff presented the commissioners' recommended fiscal 2026 budget and answered questions from the committee about major drivers and how to reduce the tax impact.

Staff said the county expects to end the year with a fund balance near $5,800,000 and that commissioners are recommending using $2,000,000 of that balance to help pay for 2026. "We're expecting to end the year at about 5,800,000.0, and the commissioners are recommending that you use 2,000,000," Speaker 1 said. Using that drawdown, staff estimated a property tax impact of roughly 7.6 percent on the typical bill. Speaker 1 also explained that roughly half of the budget increase — about $1.5 million — is attributable to wages and benefits (including a cost-of-living adjustment measured by the August CPI and merit/step increases), while the remaining increase is primarily capital projects.

Committee members asked for side-by-side spreadsheets comparing the commissioners' recommended totals to what individual departments requested. Speaker 3 asked specifically for a comparison: "I'd like to be able to compare the commissioner's budget to what the department has applied." Staff said the county will provide those comparisons and highlighted that the committee is charged with reviewing the commissioner's recommendation.

On health insurance, staff said the county changed from HealthTrust to using a broker and is buying directly from Anthem for 2026; rates provided by the carrier are firm for the calendar year but final cost depends on employee plan choices at open enrollment. "We now know it's going to be $79,006" for a particular health line item, Speaker 1 said when noting an updated estimate. Committee members pressed on how individual employee elections and one large family plan accounted for dramatic swings in some lines.

Members discussed options to lower the tax increase, including cutting roughly $550,000 in expenditures to move a hypothetical tax increase from about 7.6% to near 5.5%, or identifying additional revenue adjustments. Staff cautioned that revenue projections are typically reliable and that most discretionary room would be on the expenditure side.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the recommended budget at the meeting; members agreed to continue review, request detailed line-by-line comparisons, and reconvene before the delegation meeting scheduled for early February.