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Pennington County faces roughly $5.4 million draft budget gap; commissioners schedule follow-ups
Summary
County department leaders presented FY2027 budgets June 24; commissioners flagged a projected $5.4 million gap driven by utilities, personnel and one-time capital needs and asked staff to return with department-level scenarios at a July 7 follow-up meeting.
Pennington County commissioners heard a series of department budget presentations on June 24 and were told the overall FY2027 draft includes an estimated $5.4 million shortfall between planned expenditures and projected revenues.
County staff said the gap reflects several concurrent pressures: higher utility costs (a Black Hills Energy rate increase was cited), planned one-time capital investments in roads and emergency communications, and continued personnel costs. Jordan, county staff lead for the budget process, told commissioners that restricted funds in several programs (for example 911) are partly self‑sustaining, but the general fund will likely need to carry the majority of the shortfall.
Commissioners discussed options to close the gap, including making program cuts, delaying capital projects, using banked CPI adjustments and examining revenue alternatives such as a sales-tax increment. “We need department-level scenarios,” the chair said, and directed staff to prepare a personnel presentation and detailed expenditure trending for the July 7 follow-up. Several commissioners emphasized caution about adding full‑time staff without clear, recurring revenue to cover ongoing costs.
The schedule for follow-ups includes department-specific briefings on personnel requests, a presentation on major software/IT choices, and a deeper review of utility and fleet cost drivers. Staff were asked to bring concrete, line‑by‑line options rather than conceptual proposals.
