No one spoke during a public hearing held last week on the proposed fiscal year 2026 Madison County budget.
The $70.2 million budget, of which $35.4 million is in the general fund, proposed budget is approximately $2 million higher than the current year’s budget and includes a 3% cost of living adjustment for all employees, plus covering a 3.9% health insurance increase. The budget increases school funding by $678,000 and covers the new $347,000 in annual costs associated with the implementation of the public safety radio system. To help offset increases, $372,000 was cut from the initial operating budget projection. This included removing any new position requests and freezing some vacant positions.
The proposed budget is balanced using $1.4 million in fund balance. The real estate tax rate is also increased by two-cents, from the current equalized rate of $0.49 per $100 of assessed value to $0.51. The increase yields approximately $560,000 in revenue and is also the first increase in the real estate tax rate since 2020.
As presented, the budget also includes changes to several fees. Boarding of animals is increasing from $5 to $10 and adoption fees are increasing from $95 to $100 for dogs and from $75 to $80 for cats. The commercial tipping fee is increasing by $5 to $70 per ton.
Supervisors are expected to approve the proposed budget at the May 27 meeting.
