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Bannock County outlines FY27 budget proposal, cites insurance-driven tax increase
Summary
Bannock County commissioners reviewed a commission-proposed FY27 budget that would raise the county portion of property taxes by about $6.12 per $100,000 of taxable value, driven largely by rapidly rising employee health-insurance costs and a planned use of reserves, officials said.
The Bannock County Board of Commissioners reviewed a commission-proposed FY27 budget that staff said would require some new property tax capacity and use of reserves to cover sharply higher health-insurance costs.
"It's a difficult budget year" the clerk said, calling out inflation, fuel and other commodity price increases and pointing to health insurance as a major driver. The clerk said the proposal includes taking 3 percent (and foregone where appropriate) and a 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment for employees to help offset rising costs.
Commissioners and staff discussed the numbers in detail. Staff said total county health-insurance spending has grown from earlier years into the tens of millions of dollars; the clerk presented per-employee figures and said the county will include a chart for public distribution. Staff also told the commissioners they plan to use reserves—about $1.4 million this year and an additional approximately $1.3 million for FY27—to subsidize the increase while they study other contribution and benefit options.
Officials scheduled follow-up department meetings so department heads can review line items before the commission-proposed levy must be finalized in early August. No formal motions or votes were taken during the discussion.
The board directed staff to refine a short, department-facing summary and produce a per-employee comparison showing the effect of the 1 percent COLA compared with the increased employer health-insurance cost.
