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Commissioners review 2027 budget; discuss ambulance replacement and county attorney pay requests
Summary
Finance staff presented the 2027 budget outlook; commissioners discussed leasing or buying a replacement ambulance (presented estimate ~$430,000 and a sample lease ~$70,000/year), payroll liabilities including a new vacation payout rule, and a county attorney request to raise assistant attorney salary to $105,000 and legal‑assistant wages.
County finance staff presented estimates for the 2026 year and a 2027 budget request across departments, highlighting a modest projected deficit for the fund in the current year and the need to plan for several large items, including potential ambulance replacement and benefit liabilities.
An EMS representative explained fleet conditions and said lead times for a new ambulance are long — about two years — and that a fully built unit would be roughly in the $400,000 range (the presenter cited a figure of about $430,000), with an illustrative seven‑year lease payment around $70,000 annually. Commissioners discussed trade‑in options, vehicle maintenance costs, the county’s collections for EMS billing, and whether to start the procurement process now to account for lead time.
The county attorney (presenting as the county attorney’s office) requested staff pay adjustments to recruit and retain legal staff: he asked that assistant county attorney salaries be set at $105,000 for competitive recruitment and requested increases for legal assistant positions (examples given in meeting: senior legal assistant to $25/hour; junior legal assistant to $22/hour). The attorney cited neighboring counties’ pay bands and statutory authority for the commission to set salaries.
Commissioners stressed the need to model the fund‑balance and mill‑levy impacts before deciding on salary increases or major vehicle purchases. Finance staff committed to supply a more detailed fund‑balance impact analysis and a six‑month projection by early August to inform decisions before publishing the budget notice.
