BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Clay County Commissioners passed a tentative $779 million budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year after a public hearing on September 9. The spending plan boosts overall expenses by 11% while also decreasing the general fund and slightly reducing reserve levels.
The proposed budget is balanced as required by state law. While the total budget is $779 million, the operational budget without reserves stands at $594 million, representing an 8.3% decrease in year-over-year expenses. A key priority outlined in the budget was public safety, with law enforcement and related services accounting for $168 million in operating costs. In contrast, the general fund is projected to decrease by approximately 8.7%, or $8.5 million.
Commissioners noted that the county’s financial health remains stable, with over $22 million held in general fund reserves, meeting the standard recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association. However, this reserve level is about $1.5 million less than the previous year.
Assistant County Manager Troy Nagle told commissioners that the spending plan boosts the sheriff’s budget by 11.8% over the previous year and increases other public safety programs like fire rescue by 5.9%.
However, the county’s construction and facility maintenance budget, which covers buildings, roads, vehicles, and maintenance, was slashed by 24%, and quality-of-life budget line items, such as libraries and parks, also took a 24% hit.
Commissioner Jim Renninger called the cuts to construction and facility maintenance, as well as quality-of-life budget items, as unsustainable.
“You can do that for a year or two, but you’re really going to suffer,” he said of the cuts. “These are the roofs that leak now… Same way with quality of life. I mean, that’s your boat ramps, libraries…those are the type— maintenance things, quality of life, that we’re reducing next year’s budget by 24%.”
“This is a lean budget,” Nagle told commissioners. “I mean, no one’s going to tell you that this isn’t a lean budget.”
