Saline County Commissioners have initiated the process for developing the 2026 county budget, with a focus on enhancing public participation. During their February 25th meeting, commissioners reviewed a proposed schedule for budget development and adoption.
The timeline includes a joint meeting with the City of Salina on March 24th to discuss allocation agencies. This meeting is scheduled earlier than in previous years to allow more time for information to be distributed to these agencies before their annual presentations.
A key point of discussion was how to increase public input in the budget process. County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes reported that last year's attempt to gather public questions through social media yielded only two responses. He asked commissioners for ideas on how to encourage more public engagement.
Commissioner Monte Shadwick emphasized the importance of early public involvement, noting that by the time the mill levy is set, most budget decisions have already been made. He suggested continuing to use social media and potentially addressing the budget at every commission meeting.
The commission acknowledged the challenge of engaging the public earlier in the process, given that they typically don't have a regular audience at their meetings unlike city commission meetings.
Smith-Hanes indicated that the next step in the budget process will be presenting a five-year financial forecast to the commission in two weeks.
Commissioner Shadwick also requested information on tax-exempt properties in Saline County, suggesting this could be useful information to share with the public during budget discussions.
The commission did not make any final decisions on new public engagement strategies but agreed to continue considering options to increase public input in the 2026 budget process.
