Sheriff Dan Marks presented his proposed 2026 budget to the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors and said he tried to keep operations "basically flatlined," with only a small increase for investigative work and jail expenses.

Marks told supervisors that most operating line items are unchanged, and that the department has added only "a total of 4,000" in increased costs tied to investigations and jail operations. He said payroll remains the largest constraint and that the county will likely return some unspent funds this year, but "not to the extent that it has been" in prior years as expenses have risen.

On potential energy savings, Marks said installing a stand‑alone solar array on county buildings would be costly and carry a long payback: he cited a 20–25‑year payback estimate and warned that roof condition and future roof repairs would complicate any rooftop installation. "If the county was gonna get on something, we could piggyback off a solar field like that, and for us to do it standalone, we were looking at, 20 25 plus year payback," he said.

Board members and the sheriff also discussed how Winneshiek handles law enforcement contracts with small incorporated towns. Marks described the county’s 20/80 arrangements for part‑time deputies and the flat fee model in use for several towns; in his presentation he said the five other towns were paying a combined "grand total of $5 a year," a figure he framed as a compliance payment to meet state law rather than full cost recovery. He stressed the value of the county’s approach in reducing turnover and offering deeper resources than very small towns could sustain on their own.

Supervisors asked about utilities and heating costs, and Marks said the department has explored solar but had not found a cost‑effective standalone option given current tax credits and installation costs. "Even the vendors that would come in and install it said that they couldn't recommend it currently because of this cost effectiveness," he said.

The presentation closed with brief questions about staffing and an acknowledgement that the department will continue to monitor costs and look for partnership opportunities before making any capital commitments.

The board heard the presentation as part of the regular budget review; no final budget vote took place at this meeting.