After years of overspending, Penobscot County is projected to end 2026 with more than $1 million cash on hand.
Taxes and revenue outpaced county spending this year, leading to a projected $1.1 million surplus at the end of the year, Penobscot County Finance Director Brenda Palmer said during a Wednesday meeting.
This extra revenue would allow the county to slowly refill its depleted reserve funds and have cash on hand for the beginning of 2027. The county will still need to take out a loan to operate after the first of the year before taxes are paid next fall.
Although the revenue is a projection and could change before the end of the year, Penobscot County Commissioners David Marshall, Dan Tremble and Andre Cushing said it was a positive sign for the county, with Cushing adding it is “the most accurate data in years.”
“The work here, in my opinion, is well above and beyond, and we put ourselves in a much better financial situation than prior to my arrival,” County Administrator Blair Tinkham, who was hired in January, said.
Penobscot County has been able to keep expenses down throughout the year by implementing a hiring freeze, updating spending prioritization plans and leasing vehicles for the Sheriff’s Office instead of purchasing, Palmer said.
So far this year, Penobscot County’s expenses outpaced revenue in three months, according to a finance sheet from the county. For the calculations, the county’s loan and borrowing from county accounts was shown as revenue.
County officials borrowed from tax increment financing, COVID relief funds, opioid funds and Machias Savings Bank in 2026. All but $650,000 of that is projected to be paid off by the end of the year, according to the financial sheet.
The county’s $12 million loan from Machias Savings Bank will be repaid in November and the remaining $4 million in COVID relief funds, which are allocated to Penquis and Penobscot Community Health Center, will be repaid by October, Palmer said.
While the county is able to repay these accounts and have extra revenue by the end of the year, the $1 million “may last a week” if the county does not secure a loan before the beginning of next year, Palmer said.
County officials previously relied on COVID relief funds at the start of each year to run the county before a loan was secured. In 2026, $4 million was borrowed from the account before a loan was secured in February.
Staff and officials have been working toward borrowing from Machias Savings Bank before the end of the year to keep the cash on hand.
The county’s budget advisory committee is expected to meet in October and could pass a budget for 2027 more than a month before the end of the year, giving county officials time to negotiate and borrow before Jan. 1, Tinkham said.
The loan for 2027 will be more than in previous years because of the lack of COVID relief funds to borrow from, Palmer said.
Although there’s still a budget to pass and a change from a calendar year system to a fiscal year to implement, commissioners said it shows new systems are working to keep the county under budget.
“This is a remarkable year for where we started. There were sacrifices from the finance department, the administrator, all the departments. Everyone felt some pain to get to where we are,” Tremble said.