Douglas County holds public hearing on $648M budget; commissioners vote to delay adoption one week

Lori Persch, Douglas County CFO, presented the proposed FY 2026-27 budget during a special budget meeting on July 28. Persch said the board's tax levy would remain at 29.059 cents per $100 of valuation and presented a total proposed budget of $648,092,830 including $29.1 million of remaining ARPA funds; excluding ARPA, the comparable total is $618.9 million. She identified two primary drivers of the year-over-year increase: a $6.4 million rise in the roads fund and $6 million of additional inheritance-tax-funded capital spending.

Multiple commissioners and members of the public criticized the timing and availability of budget materials, saying the public and some board members had limited time to review extensive documents. Doug Kagan of Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom and Mary Lee Moulton of the League of Women Voters urged a longer public-review period; Kagan called the budget "skimpy in nature" in its public presentation, and Moulton asked the board to "extend the public hearing and leave it open" until the next meeting. After discussion, the board voted to continue the hearing and take action next week; the motion to continue passed 6-0 (Commissioner Rogers absent for the vote). Persch and staff said many numbers derive from multi-year funds and grants (roads, ARPA, inheritance tax) and that detailed departmental budgets and exhibit materials are posted and available for review.