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Union County adopts 2026 budget, sets tax levies
Summary
The Union County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted the county's 2026 annual budget and associated tax levies on Sept. 16, 2025; the record lists levy rates and notes they remain subject to Department of Revenue approval.
Union County commissioners voted Sept. 16 to adopt the county's annual budget for Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2026, approving the provisional budget without changes and recording a 5-0 roll-call vote.
The vote to adopt the budget was made by Commissioner Tom Kimmel and seconded by Commissioner Bob Ballard. The minutes record the roll call as Dailey—aye; Ustad—aye; Ballard—aye; Kimmel—aye; Joffer—aye. The accompanying resolution cites SDCL 7-21-5 through 7-21-13 and states the annual budget is available for public inspection at the county auditor’s office.
Why it matters: the minutes include a full breakdown of tax levies that will fund county operations and special levies if approved by state authorities. Among the items listed are general county purposes of $8,743,145.00 (3.024 per $1,000 of assessed value), an allocation of $719,426.00 for county road and bridge (0.249 per $1,000), and special levies for secondary road unorganized PT-76 and fire protection. The minutes list the county’s total taxes to be levied at $9,610,082.00, equivalent to 4.659 per $1,000. The record notes these levies were not yet approved by the South Dakota Department of Revenue as of Sept. 16, 2025.
The auditor’s accompanying cash and investment report showed total county funds of $20,023,998.55, including investments of $14,083,859.46. The minutes explicitly state that those figures include funds administered by the county on behalf of cities, schools and townships.
The board’s formal resolution approving the budget appears in the minutes and is signed by Chairman Kevin Joffer and the four other commissioners; County Auditor Katie Winquist attested the adoption. The resolution language says, in part, “The Annual Budget so adopted is available for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the county auditor.”
Next steps: the minutes indicate the levies will be submitted to the Department of Revenue for final approval; no further action on this item was recorded at the Sept. 16 meeting.
