Marshall County Fiscal Court adopts annual budget after discussion of jail costs, COLA and FEMA payouts

The Marshall County Fiscal Court voted June 9 to adopt Ordinance 20264, the county's annual budget and appropriations for fiscal year 2026-2027.

Erica presented the ordinance's funding lines for multiple funds, including allocations for road, jail and E-911 operations and instructions that the ordinance be published by title and summary in the Tribune Courier within 30 days. The court moved and approved adoption following discussion.

During debate members emphasized pressures on the county budget from rising insurance and health-care premiums and the cost of housing inmates. Court members noted the budget includes a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for county employees. Officials also discussed that a substantial share of locally collected occupational tax revenue is being used for public-protection costs (sheriff, jail and E-911), raising concerns about long-term sustainability.

Members discussed outstanding tornado-recovery reimbursements from FEMA. Officials said a FEMA representative would be on site to close out claims and that state-level disbursement issues had delayed county payments; members said they expect closure and receipt of county funds shortly.

The court approved the ordinance by voice vote after discussion. The ordinance document, as presented during the second reading, lists multiple fund appropriations and directs publication by title and summary; the transcript did not record a detailed roll-call vote tally in the meeting record.

Next steps: the ordinance takes effect upon passage and publication, and county staff said they will proceed with required publication and with follow-up on FEMA funding and grant contracts tied to capital projects.