Franklin County commissioners adopt 2026 budgets, uphold $160,000 cut to prosecuting attorney amid dispute over therapeutic-court funding

Franklin County commissioners voted to adopt the county's 2026 budgets and certify levy amounts on Tuesday following debate about whether therapeutic-court costs should be charged to the mental-health tax and after the board agreed to a $160,000 reduction to the prosecuting attorney's office budget.

The move formalized levy certifications and budget resolutions the board was asked to sign, including a road-department levy certification for $4,200,000 and a current-expense levy of $13,500,000. County staff presented totals for the proposed budgets and noted the county had built a $1,400,000 reserve to guard against revenue shortfalls.

The vote capped a lengthy budget hearing in which the prosecuting attorney's office, represented in discussion by an office speaker who identified himself as Sean (Unidentified Speaker 5), urged commissioners to allocate therapeutic-court personnel costs to the county's restricted mental-health tax line. The office sought roughly $56,000 for 2026 and a matching $56,000 that the office said should have been charged for 2025, which it described as $112,000 in potential additional resources to the current-expense budget.

"I'm asking you not to punish the rest of my office and the citizens of Franklin County for the service that we deliver," the prosecuting office speaker said, urging the board to use the mental-health tax to support attorney and staff time assigned to therapeutic court.

Commissioners and county fiscal staff disputed the availability of the unspent funds the office had proposed to use. County staff described that anticipated unspent salary dollars had already been included in beginning-fund-balance projections and therefore were not an extra pool available for reassignment without a formal budget amendment.

The presiding commissioner (Unidentified Speaker 1) told the prosecuting office the board had made the decision to apply the $160,000 reduction to that office for this budget cycle, and said he was not prepared to authorize pulling funds from the mental-health tax at that meeting. "We are passing the budget. Your budget has been cut a 160,000 this time," the presiding commissioner said.

County staff and the assessor, John Rosenow, also briefed commissioners on technical items the board needed to adopt. Rosenow told the board the Department of Revenue had confirmed in writing that the county's treatment of certain funds (including the veterans assistance fund referenced in the documents) was admissible and acceptable.

During the meeting Unidentified Speaker 6 noted a $20,000 line in the 2025 budget for a contract that staff had not yet been able to fully identify; staff said they would follow up after the adoption.

Commissioners moved and approved several formal items by voice vote: the Franklin County Road Department levy certification for $4,200,000; certification of the current-expense levy at $13,500,000; adoption of the 2026 current-expense budget as read in the resolutions presented; and adoption of the 2026 miscellaneous funds and road fund budgets, which were read in the meeting as $88,934,782. Commissioners said the actions were taken without layoffs and without increasing local tax rates.

"For the second year in a row, there is no diversion or shift from the road fund," the budget presenter said, noting that the county had also established the $1.4 million reserve. Several commissioners thanked county staff by name during closing remarks, including Tim Anderson, assessor John Rosenow and Teresa Alvarez, for work on the budgets.

The chair opened the floor for public comment, received none, closed the hearing and adjourned the meeting.

What's next: staff will finalize and file the signed levy certifications and resolutions. Commissioners discussed the possibility of a future budget amendment if revenues decline and noted they would continue monitoring sales tax receipts and fund balances.