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Fergus County holds FY26 preliminary budget hearing; officials point to centralized assessment and a large chip‑seal project
Summary
At a public hearing the Fergus County commission reviewed the FY26 preliminary budget, citing higher assessed value from centralized assessment that funds a one‑year chip‑seal road project, a proposed deputy FTE to curb overtime, and uncertainty from possible assessment protests; a special meeting to approve the budget was set for Sept. 3.
Fergus County commissioners opened a public hearing on the county's preliminary FY26 budget, where staff said recent centralized assessment increases provide the revenue base for a major road preservation project and personnel changes.
"The biggest things on this budget, our mill value increased to 65,459.7," said Bill, the staff member who presented the budget, noting that road mills rose and that overall expenditures increased by approximately $2,163,550. Bill said taxable property values rose by roughly $1,385,368 and that about $1,601,723 of the additional tax revenue was attributable to the centralized assessment.
Commissioners discussed how the state's recent tax shifts could create both "winners and losers" among property owners. One commissioner said they expected taxpayers "should see... I shouldn't see a huge jump," while supporting the board's plan to fund a large chip‑seal project this year rather than spreading it over multiple years to preserve pavement.
The staff presentation broke out levied funds to improve transparency between deputy public‑safety spending and jail spending and noted the county plans to add one full‑time public‑safety deputy to help reduce overtime. The presenter also said the permissive mill levy for group health insurance is 18.12 mills, reported as 2.39 mills less than last year, and that the county turned back fewer mills last year (5.29) than proposed this year (10.26), a difference the presenter described as a 4.97‑mill increase.
Commissioners and staff cautioned that centralized assessments are often protested. "It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next four to six months with centralized assessments," the commissioner said, noting that protests could reduce the revenue the county expects and might force postponement of the large project.
Board members and staff also calculated that the county did not levy roughly $671,000 of permissible general mills and, when including permissive mills not levied for health insurance (about $130,000), approximately $800,000 of permissive revenue was left uncollected by choice.
The chair closed the budget hearing and the commission scheduled a special meeting for Sept. 3 at 10 a.m. to approve the budget and to hold a second hearing for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) matters.
What happens next: The special meeting on Sept. 3 (10 a.m.) is scheduled to take final action on the budget. The presenter said the preliminary budget was included in the mailed board packet; commissioners asked staff to ensure all members have the document electronically if needed.
