Hillsdale County adopts tentative 2026 budgets, schedules public hearing

Hillsdale County commissioners voted to adopt tentative 2026 budgets for the general fund and other county funds and scheduled a public hearing for Dec. 23, 2025.

Finance staff told the board the tentative general-fund budget is balanced at $16,226,532 in both revenue and expenditures. The draft incorporates approved wage adjustments and negotiation assumptions for deputies and nonunion staff, and includes an estimated $13,000 transfer to the capital improvement fund — nearly $11,000 of which is already earmarked to cover a lease payment for a skid steer for facilities. Staff also reported an estimated revenue shortfall of roughly $160,000 tied to changes in active recreational-marijuana licenses.

Commissioners questioned tight line items and the exclusion of some department reclassification requests from the tentative budget. One commissioner described the document as a working draft that will be adjusted after public comment and further committee review; another said the committee has two weeks to propose changes before the public hearing. The board approved the tentative general-fund budget in a roll-call vote (Yes: Commissioner Menzies, Commissioner Leinger, Commissioner Connells, Commissioner Wilde; No: Commissioner Ingalls).

Separately, commissioners approved a separate tentative package covering special revenue, debt retirement, construction and enterprise funds; staff reported $50,907,912 in total revenues across all funds and $55,635,965 in total expenditures for those funds, noting some figures represent intra-county transfers rather than new revenue. Commissioners requested that the county post clear links from the required legal notice to the full budget packet on the county website so residents can review the reports prior to the hearing.

The board set a public hearing on the proposed 2026 county budgets (general fund, special revenue, debt retirement, capital projects, delinquent tax and enterprise funds) for Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025 at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 33 of the County Office Building. The resolution cites MCL 141.412 for the required notice and directs the treasurer to publish the legal ad and make the proposed budgets available for inspection by appointment at the county clerk’s office.