County adopts 2026 tax levy and FY2026 budget; board amends budget to add IT positions and $477,000 in personnel funding

At its Nov. 20, 2025 meeting, the Champaign County Board adopted Ordinance No. 2025-14 approving the fiscal year 2026 annual tax levy and separately moved to adopt Ordinance No. 2025-15 to approve the FY2026 budget and appropriation.

During consideration of the budget ordinance, a board member (speaker 16) introduced an amendment to the county’s organizational chart and FY2026 personnel lines: add one IT manager, one systems administrator, three junior systems administrators and one additional administrative assistant; and increase the IT full-time personnel line by $477,000 (general fund lines and department numbers were read into the record). The sponsor explained the change reflected a recently reached agreement with the Regional Planning Commission to transfer their IT services to county IT, replacing an outside contractor and enabling cost savings while expanding county IT capacity.

The amendment was seconded and the board held a roll-call vote on the amended motion. The roll-call shows the amended budget passed; one member (Pugh) recorded a No vote. The transcript records the amendment’s specific dollar amount and the general fund and department lines cited for the increased personnel funding.

The tax levy ordinance (2025-14) was approved earlier in the meeting by roll call. The board also approved other budget-related items, including opioid-settlement appropriations described elsewhere on the agenda.

Next steps: county staff will update the FY2026 budget documents to reflect the approved amendments and implement the IT staffing changes through administrative hiring processes.