In the latest round of budget negotiations, Waldo County commissioners have come up with two different spending plans for 2026 — one that calls for a roughly 13.6% increase over 2025, and another that calls for a 17.1% increase, said Commissioner Kevin Kelley on Thursday.
The commissioners plan to forward both options to the county budget committee for its next meeting on Tuesday.
The lower figure would present significant financial risk for the county and be unsustainable in the long term, the commissioners said in a meeting on Thursday. The budget committee, which has final say over the budget, has pushed commissioners to limit spending increases.
“If [the budget committee] wants to do the right thing and have a responsible budget, my view is that we can’t be doing this,” said Commissioner Breanna Pinkham Bebb, referring to the budget proposal that calls for the 13.6% increase.
In December, the budget committee declined to vote on the commissioners’ first proposed budget that called for a 36% hike and caused public outcry. In January, commissioners proposed a 17% increase, but the committee asked for deeper cuts.
The commissioners and county staff worked for weeks on a new proposal, but said the county could hit “budget cliffs” and spend down its reserves if the increase is limited to 13.6%.
“We want the budget committee to understand this,” said Commissioner Kevin Kelley. “If we go with a 13.6% increase, we’re going to hit the cliffs, and next year we’re going to be having the same discussion.”