County judge plugs $1.60-an-hour placeholder into preliminary FY26 budget

The County Judge, speaking at the July 30 budget hearing, said he had included “a dollar 60 per hour for every employee” as a preliminary input while the court and departments finalize figures. He emphasized the number is a modeling device, not a finalized raise, and said final decisions will come after further discussion.

The judge also described the county’s approach to insurance increases — an approximately $1,100 rise per covered employee that the county intends to absorb — and the inclusion of a 1% contingency line in the draft budget. He asked departments to recheck items such as fuel, travel and operating expenses to find realistic savings. “We’re looking for every nickel and dime we can on this,” the judge said as he urged department heads to be conservative in requests.

Auditors and department heads responded with line-level adjustments during the hearing: several smaller travel and postage lines were held steady or trimmed; a $300 fuel allocation was restored for adult probation; and staff noted that fund balances (for example fund 61) can sometimes be used to offset department deficits instead of transferring general fund dollars. The court stopped short of approving any final rate and said the draft will be revised through the remainder of the budget hearings.