The Christian County Commission on Dec. 18 approved a package of 2026 budgets and reviewed county funds, reserves and major capital projects.

Presiding Commissioner opened the discussion by noting the county has focused on paying-as-you-go for campus construction and avoiding new bonding where possible. County staff walked commissioners through the Commission operations budget and a set of funds that includes the emergency reserve (statutorily required), the law enforcement sales tax trust fund (an 80/20 split between sheriff and prosecutor expenses), the law enforcement restitution fund and the building capital fund. Staff said the bond debt service that financed the Judicial Center has roughly 12 years remaining.

The Auditor described a modest increase for a ClearGov transparency and budgeting portal, which staff said will reduce manual workload. Employee Services staff reviewed the department’s evolution (HR, purchasing and IT consolidated under Employee Services) and warned that health-insurance costs are a major driver of near-term budget pressure.

On the highway side, Highway Administrator Miss Beagle outlined planned road work and equipment purchases, including a planned backhoe, a midi excavator for the west side, slab and culvert replacements, resurfacing and safety projects such as Prairie Ridge Road and Rosemead stormwater improvements. She told commissioners the shop and software upgrades are intended to improve efficiency and that bringing some services in-house should net countywide savings over time.

Commissioners approved separate motions to adopt the Employee Services budget, the Auditor’s budget, the Commission budget and the Highway budget; votes were moved, seconded and passed unanimously. The commission also discussed neighborhood-improvement-district debt (Stone Hollow NID estimated at about nine years remaining), the status of ARPA funds (staff projected closeout early next year) and an informational lease payment for public defenders’ office space that appears in the Commission budget.

The commission indicated it will continue to monitor mandated costs from state legislation and urged residents to bring concerns to local legislators if statutory changes affect county finances.

The near-term fiscal plan emphasized building out the county campus by selling lots and assets rather than issuing new bonds; commissioners said that approach is intended to lessen taxpayer burden while allowing incremental capital improvements.