Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Adoption topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Custer County adopts 2026 budget, appropriations and sets mill levy at 18.245 mills
Summary
The Custer County Board of Commissioners adopted the 2026 budget, appropriated funds and certified a mill levy of 18.245 mills on Dec. 15, 2025; staff said the budget balances and includes a $511,000 transfer to several funds to cover liabilities and build reserves for 2027 balloon payments.
The Custer County Board of Commissioners voted Dec. 15 to adopt the county's 2026 budget, approve an appropriation resolution and certify the mill levy for the 2026 budget year.
An unidentified commissioner moved to adopt Resolution 25-64, the formal budget adoption. The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. The board then adopted Resolution 25-65, appropriating sums to county funds for the 2026 year, and Resolution 25-66 certifying property taxes (mill levy) to help defray government costs for the 2026 budget year.
Vernon Ralph, director of finance, told the board that audited 2024 year-end balances were carried into the 2025 and 2026 estimates and that the county expected an overall fund-balance increase of about $240,000'$260,000 from 2025 to 2026. Ralph said the general fund budgets $7,231,000 in expenses against $7,234,000 in projected revenues for 2026, and that nearly every fund in the budget is balanced; one fund (the tourism fund) projects authorized expenditures slightly over current-year revenue but has fund balances to cover the difference.
Ralph also outlined a planned $511,000 transfer from the general fund to several other funds: to the capital fund to cover planned capital expenses, to the new 56 self-insurance fund (health coverage) to build its balance, to the liability and workers' compensation fund to cover rising costs, to the emergency services/OEM operations fund and to the airport fund. He told the board that several balloon payments and equipment leases are due in 2027 (including a landfill compactor and scraper, land payments and sheriff vehicles) and described the transfers as a precaution to ensure those obligations can be met.
The board discussed mill-levy mechanics. The budget as adopted includes a temporary 2-mill "float down" from the voter-approved maximum (described in the budget as a reduction from 20.245 mills to 18.245 mills for the adopted levy). The mill-levy breakdown in the adopted resolution lists the general fund at 9 mills, road and bridge at 5 mills, human services at approximately 1.096 mills, insurance at 1.5 mills and emergency services at 1.649 mills, based on the certified 2025 assessed valuation.
The board approved the budget and both resolutions by voice vote; no "no" votes were recorded on the public record. Staff will publish the signed documents and upload the final budget and signature pages.
The commissioners said staff'level improvements in documentation (detailed fund definitions, salary line items and lease summaries) made the budget easier to review and will help with transparency for future years.
