By CHAD COOPER, [email protected]
The Buchanan County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the county’s fiscal year 2026-27 budget during its June 8 meeting, adopting a spending plan totaling $197.7 million across all county funds.
The budget was approved following a motion by Garden District Supervisor Jeff Cooper and a second by North Grundy District Supervisor Lee Dotson. The measure passed unanimously.
The county’s General County Fund (Fund 001) includes $61.12 million in expenditures and revenues. The budget allocates funding for county administration, public safety, education, public works, social services and other government operations.
Among the largest expenditures in the General County Fund are $9.93 million for Social Services and Comprehensive Services Act programs, $8.1 million for public schools, $8.06 million for law enforcement, $7.09 million for public works and $3.94 million for environmental management.
Revenue for the General County Fund is expected to come primarily from property taxes, which are projected to generate $21.77 million, and other local taxes totaling $10.89 million. The budget also includes $7.21 million in anticipated surplus funds.
Outside the General County Fund, the county’s largest special funds include $50 million for school construction projects, $41.77 million for the School Fund, $12.49 million for the Department of Social Services and $11.48 million for the Coal Road Fund.
The budget also provides funding for emergency communications through the E-911 Fund, flood recovery and disaster assistance programs, opioid settlement initiatives, public safety grants, economic development projects and various school-related programs.
County officials noted that the budget is balanced, with total expenditures matching projected revenues at $197,711,279.
The fiscal year 2026-27 budget will take effect July 1.
In other business, Adkins moved to approve Buchanan County Head Start’s submission of a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in the amount of $11,335 as an additional appropriation. Dotson seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously by the board.
In other business, following a recommendation by Buchanan County Administrator Craig Horn, the board voted unanimously to donate $1 per bag for garbage picked up in the county to a nonprofit organization.
“This one we have been doing; we just couldn’t find the original motion,” Horn explained. “We wanted you all to reaffirm to continue to do this. There is only one group right now doing it, the Friends of the Library. Cooper then moved to approve Horn’s request, which was seconded by Stiltner and unanimously approved by the board.
