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Council reviews 2027 county tax budget but cannot vote after losing quorum
Summary
The council held a public session to review a forecast for the 2027 county tax budget but could not take votes because three members were absent; staff outlined assumptions including an excluded income tax and an uncertain levy renewal, and members flagged possible large police-contract costs as the main budget risk.
The council met in a public session to review a forecast for the 2027 county tax budget but did not have a quorum and could not take formal votes.
A staff member, who prepared the forecast with a colleague, said the report is an annual, multi-year projection based on past spending and current expectations and runs through 2031. "This is something we have to do every year," the staff member said, noting the forecast excludes any income tax because that tax has not been voted on and that the renewal of a 2027 levy remains unknown.
The staff member said finance reviewed the forecast and that she and Justin spent several hours on the document. She told council members only a few paper copies were printed and offered to email the report to members who want a copy.
One council member said public safety is "the elephant in the room," citing uncertainty about the police contract after 2029 and warning that the police contract costs "could double" in 2028 depending on negotiations and contract provisions. That member pointed to section 2 of the current contract as a source of the anticipated increase.
Because three members were absent, the council moved only to excuse absences and could not vote on the budget itself. Miss Angeline moved to excuse Linda Bolton's absence, seconded by Mister Burns; the excusal was approved during roll call. Similar excusal motions for other absent members were made and recorded.
The Chair said Cindy would contact the county the next day to request a filing extension; if the county grants an extension the item could be taken up at the August meeting, otherwise an emergency meeting would be called to meet the deadline.
With no further questions, members moved to adjourn. The council did not adopt any budget-related actions at the session; next steps hinge on whether the county grants an extension and on outcomes of police-contract negotiations that could materially affect future years' projections.
