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Grant County budget message: $5.45M cash on hand, SRS funds and sheriff spending discussed
Summary
Budget Officer/Treasurer Julie Ellison read the proposed 2026–27 budget message citing $5,454,144 in cash on hand and proposed transfers; the message referenced HB3328 and directed potential SRS funds toward sheriff patrol while the sheriff requested a vehicle and protective equipment.
Treasurer and Budget Officer Julie Ellison read the proposed 2026–2027 Budget Message and the committee discussed major revenue and spending items. Ellison reported the county expects to begin FY 2026–27 with $5,454,144 in cash on hand, contingency of $776,744, and an unappropriated balance of $4,000,000. The message states that Secure Rural Schools (SRS) distributions were re-authorized and that, following HB3328, Grant County may receive SRS dollars that can be allocated to sheriff patrol.
Ellison also summarized department requests included in the draft: the Sheriff’s Office has requested $10,000 for body armor and one vehicle estimated at $75,000; the sheriff’s department was presented at full staffing with a proposed budget of approximately $3,200,000. Ellison noted the county anticipates at least $875,000 in PILT and described prior special-road-district activity related to SRS and PILT that was dissolved on March 4, 2026. The budget message warns that inflationary pressures and fully staffed sheriff projections will continue to deplete general fund balances.
The committee asked for additional detail in several areas — including a list of sheriff vehicles and a split of animal-damage amounts between administration and wolf control — to aid decision-making in later meetings. No formal allocation of SRS dollars to specific uses was approved at the March 18 hearing; the committee and sheriff will decide how much, if any, SRS funding is directed to patrol.
