Budget Committee finally agrees on tax rate proposal

After multiple Budget Committee meetings and dozens of voices from both commissioners and audience the past month, a new budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year has been sent to full court. On July 7, the Budget Committee sent down a $1.45 tax rate proposal, which includes a flat $4,000 raise for county employees.

July 7 saw multiple committees meet, with Solid Waste, and the Steering Committees also meeting for the evening, but all the eyes and ears were on the budget meeting. This meeting was one of the last chances they would have to send a proposal to the full court, scheduled for July 21.

After about an hour of deliberation and comments from other commissioners not on the committee, the Budget Committee sent a proposal to full court that includes the following: a $4,000 pay raise to all county employees, a longevity pay system giving a $100 bonus per year of service, moving the emergency management agency director from part-time to full-time, adding the Parks & Recreation director, three law enforcement vehicles, four new emergency medical service positions, two ambulance remounts, and a new mechanic for central maintenance.

Originally, the raise was going to be an 8% raise across the board, but the commission decided the flat dollar amount would benefit the lower end positions better. For example, the convenience center workers would have received a much smaller raise on the percentage amount, and the county wanted to get them to $10.50 as a baseline moving forward.

Some of the removals from the budget that had been discussed prior are as follows: the two new deputy positions, the assistant for the County Executive, the full-time assistant EMS director, and the second new mechanic for central maintenance.

One of the members of the audience that came up to speak was Jenry Delaney, one of the victims of the house fire, on June 30. Delaney and his fiancée spoke passionately about the events and the need for EMS. The couple pleaded with the commission to take care of emergency services, because “that could have been any one of your families.”

They asked the commission for a response, and Commission Chairman Derek Hutchings agreed they want to take care of EMS. He cited the previous 15% raise that would have included EMS and $1.57 proposal that was shot down in full court prior.

Budget Chairman Kyle Goff told the two that the commission would continue to pray for the families affected, and he thanked those that did their best during the fire to give all the aid they could.

The full court will vote on this proposal at 6 p.m., July 21. At 5:30 p.m. before the vote, there will be a public hearing for constituents to give their opinion before the voting begins.