Saline County residents may see higher property taxes next year as County Administrator Philip Smith-Hanes presented a 2026 budget recommendation that includes a 1.459 mill increase during Monday's County Commission meeting.
Smith-Hanes described the proposed budget as "unpleasant" while presenting the financial outlook for the upcoming fiscal year that begins January 1, 2026.
"The tax rate in the county is really a math problem," Smith-Hanes told commissioners. "It's based on what other revenues we have coming in, what cash carryover balances we have, and what expenses we face."
According to the administrator, if commissioners wish to avoid exceeding the revenue neutral rate, they would need to cut an additional $1,858,000 from the budget.
The proposed budget includes no new staff positions despite several department heads justifying their need for additional personnel. Smith-Hanes indicated that while many of these requests were warranted, the county's financial situation doesn't allow for staffing increases in 2026.
To help offset the tax increase, the budget proposes transferring $729,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund back to the general fund, which Smith-Hanes said is equivalent to one mill. He noted this is possible because the CIP balance is currently healthy, and recent projects like the old jail demolition came in under budget.
Smith-Hanes identified at least "three gimmicks" embedded in the budget that he acknowledged are unsustainable and will need to be rectified in future years. These include drawing from special funds like the Special Highway Fund to cover regular operational expenses.
County departments were asked to reduce non-personnel expenses by 2% when submitting their initial budget requests, with most complying with this directive. However, some departments like the Sheriff's Office required increases due to rising costs in areas like inmate medical care, which is up $155,000 due to a new contract, and utilities at the new jail facility, which are projected to increase by $146,000.
During the meeting, it was noted that 36% of property in Saline County doesn't pay property taxes, which Commissioner Shadwick pointed out is the fifth highest percentage in the state, further constraining the county's revenue options.
The commission will begin formal budget deliberations at their July 15th meeting, with final adoption scheduled for September 9th. Department heads have until Thursday to appeal the administrator's recommendations, with two departments already indicating they plan to do so.
