Franklin County commissioners on Monday agreed by consensus to a package of spending reductions and revenue assumptions intended to balance the county’s 2026 budget and finish the formal adoption process at the next meeting.

County Administrator Danzel presented the plan, saying staff had combined personnel reductions with modest revenue increases to close a remaining shortfall. "If we reduce corrections staffing by about two positions and take specific reductions in the assessor and information services budgets, and we account for a $120,000 bump in sales tax plus modest investment earnings, that gets us to a balanced budget," Danzel said.

Why it matters: commissioners face an unexpected $700,000 increase in the county’s risk-insurance renewal and downward pressure on sales-tax receipts. The board and staff said those two factors widened the gap this year and left them weighing cuts versus use of one-time or restricted funds.

The package the board confirmed includes: a $200,000 reduction in the corrections budget (implemented as two positions through attrition where feasible); a $160,000 reduction in the prosecuting attorney’s (PA) office budget; approximately $100,000 each in reductions from the assessor and the county’s information services (IS) budget; a $120,000 sales-tax revenue assumption; and $25,000 each to "investment earnings" and "investment interest." The board also authorized staff to utilize the veterans assistance fund within applicable legal constraints and to prepare resolutions for adoption at the next meeting.

Prosecutor Sean Sandler, who attended the hearing, warned the board that large reductions would affect operations and public safety priorities. "This kind of budget reduction . . . would require us to shift resources and could mean property crimes get lower priority," Sandler said, describing a backlog of pending cases and a pending software upgrade request designed to handle increased data loads.

Board members discussed alternatives to minimize service impacts. Commissioners asked staff to determine whether portions of certain positions supporting therapeutic courts could be paid from the mental-health sales tax, which would free current-expense dollars. Danzel and finance staff estimated that reallocating roughly a quarter of one attorney’s salary and a similar share of support staff could free approximately $60,000–$70,000.

The board also debated whether to seek $100,000 from Superior Court; staff noted large portions of that budget are contract-driven and may not be easily reduced. Commissioners discussed asking Superior Court and separately elected officials to appear publicly before any forced reductions.

Insurance renewal and risk pool pressures were central to the discussion. Staff reported the county had received a renewal notice showing a markedly higher premium this year; the county’s increase was larger than the pool average. Commissioners directed staff to explore mitigation, including negotiating different deductibles or shopping the market for alternative risk-pool arrangements.

Procedure and outcome: after a brief executive session to consult on a potential litigation question related to restricted funds, a commissioner moved that the administrator and auditor implement the package Danzel described and prepare resolutions for adoption at the next meeting. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Staff said they would have draft resolutions prepared for the next day’s meeting if feasible.

What’s next: staff will finalize the budget language and resolutions for the commission’s next meeting and supply additional line-item calculations, including how much of certain salaries can legally and practically be charged to restricted mental-health funds. The board recessed the hearing until after the regular commissioners’ meeting tomorrow.

Quotes (selected):
"I don't don't wanna see us take anything out of the veterans fund," one commissioner said, emphasizing the political sensitivity of using that levy.
"We've been hit with a $700,000 risk insurance increase," County Administrator Danzel said, framing the urgency behind the cuts and adjustments.

The board’s consensus directions and the motion to implement the adjustments will be incorporated into staff-prepared resolutions for formal adoption at the next meeting.