Wise County supervisors review first draft of FY26 budget; staff warns of near‑term cash risks and sheriff cuts

The Wise County Board of Supervisors spent its May 6 meeting reviewing the first draft of the fiscal 2026 budget and pressing staff for more detail on personnel reductions and near‑term cash risks.

County finance staff presented the draft revenue and expense figures and the latest cash position. “You can see as of April 30th, our cash balance is 13,073,538 dollars in your general fund,” staff member Dolores told the board, noting that checks mailed after month‑end would reduce available cash and that some grant revenues arrive months after expenses are paid.

Why it matters: staff said expenditures are the one lever the county can control in the months before the next major tax billing, and the board must decide how much of the county’s limited fund balance to hold as restricted reserves. The draft includes a proposed restricted (rainy‑day) fund of about $9.88 million, leaving roughly $5.35 million undesignated under current projections.

Major figures and assumptions cited by staff include an $81.5 million revenue budget (including about $8.8 million of bond proceeds) and roughly $58.8 million collected through April, leaving about $22.7 million still to be collected. Staff warned that collections timing, grant reimbursement lags and summer spending patterns could stress cash between June and October.

Cuts and personnel trade‑offs: the draft budgets incorporate roughly $2.2 million of reductions affecting the sheriff’s office. Staff described those reductions as a mix of personnel, overtime and other operating costs and said the sheriff’s office must propose which positions to eliminate or reassign. Board members repeatedly pressed for a clear slide‑by‑slide breakdown of the $2.2 million and asked how many positions could be affected; staff estimated reductions could range from a handful of jobs to a larger set depending on grant outcomes.

School resource officers (SROs) were a central tension. Staff described two grants affecting SRO staffing: one award funds 12 SRO positions through Dec. 31 and a second decision on six positions was expected within weeks. Board members repeatedly asked whether the sheriff would reassign existing deputies to schools if grant funding expired and noted the political sensitivity and public expectations about SRO coverage.

Landfill planning and one‑time needs: staff told the board the county’s landfill is approaching a point when it may need expansion or to transfer household trash out of county. Transfer would require hauling contracts, trailers, possible driver hires and added equipment; staff placed an initial $200,000 in the landfill fund in the draft and requested authority to move an additional $435,000 pending a short administrative transfer. The board asked staff to provide options and estimates (transport per‑ton cost, trailer needs, staffing impacts) before final adoption.

Other items: the draft assumes a lower level of interest income because of reduced investable cash; it includes adjustments for insurance renewals and health‑plan changes; staff proposed continuing a travel freeze and tighter purchase‑order/credit‑card controls to limit late‑June spending that historically produces large July cash outflows. Staff also recommended pursuing a hardship request of regional behavioral health funding partners to reduce the county’s local match by about $150,000 for the upcoming year.

Next steps: staff said they will pull the requested detail on sheriff cuts, landfill transfer steps and the SRO grant timing and prepare a public‑hearing version of the draft for formal advertisement next week. The board directed staff to produce clearer department summaries showing local versus state/federal/grant funding before the public hearing and to post the draft budget and backup materials online.

The board will hold the scheduled public hearings required by state law and must adopt a budget by the start of the fiscal year. The board’s next regular meeting is set for Thursday evening, when members said they expect to receive more granular slides on the sheriff’s reductions and the landfill transfer request.