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Surrogate, register of deeds and education office present modest budget requests; surrogate asks for outreach funding
Summary
Surrogate Rick Kenny, the register's representative and the county superintendent presented their 2026 budgets; notable items included the surrogate's $70,000 outreach request, register of deeds revenue reporting, and a stable education office budget with contractual salary increases.
Several county offices presented shorter, informational budgets and service overviews during the Feb. 25 hearing.
Surrogate Rick Kenny said his office handled roughly 10,084 cases in 2025 and generated approximately $796,303 in local revenue; he reported a 2026 budget totaling $1,055,420 and requested an added $70,000 to fund website development and community outreach to better explain surrogate services to residents. Kenny said outreach previously boosted revenues and public engagement and asked commissioners to consider the supplemental funding.
Hussam Mohammed, filling in for the register of deeds, reported 2025 revenues of about $13,000,005.22 and said the office prudently budgets $11,000,000 for 2026 as a conservative estimate. The register’s office reported two trust funds (regular trust approximately $292,000 and the Code Blue fund approximately $100,000 as of 12/31/2025) and noted four vacant positions among 28 budgeted roles.
Interim executive county superintendent Joseph Zara summarized education-office responsibilities (oversight of 23 districts, charters, and approved private schools serving students with disabilities) and described midyear budget reviews; his office’s salary line includes contractual increases and staffing largely matches prior years.
Why it matters: these offices provide direct constituent services (guardianship, probate, deed recording, school oversight). Commissioners asked for reconciled revenue reports and trust-fund balances for follow-up; surrogate outreach and website work were discussed as potential investments to increase public awareness of available services.
Next steps: commissioners asked staff to reconcile revenue reporting differences and to take the surrogate’s outreach request into discussions with administration; no formal appropriation or vote occurred for these items.
