Thomas County Commissioners Trim 2026 Budget, Approve 3% Cost of Living Increase

During another budget session Monday, July 14, at the Thomas County Courthouse, county commissioners and staff worked through hours of financial data, wage proposals, and department requests before settling on a 2026 budget that includes a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for most employees and a modest 3.398% increase over the Revenue Neutral Rate.

The meeting opened with a call for balance between service delivery and the growing burden placed on taxpayers, particularly long-term homeowners affected by rising property valuations. One commissioner noted that while the county strives to support its workforce and maintain essential services, “owning a home used to be a hallmark of middle-class stability — now we have to ensure our decisions don’t price people out of the very homes they’ve worked their whole lives to pay off.”

Much of the conversation focused on the county’s employee compensation structure. The current pay matrix, which sets consistent annual raises based on tenure and performance, was praised by department heads like, who said it provided fairness and predictability. However, the commissioners debated whether wage compression and competitiveness in the broader labor market warranted additional changes. Ultimately, the board agreed to maintain the matrix system and supplement it with a 3% cost-of-living adjustment. That COLA will not apply to departments such as Road and Bridge or Landfill, where wage increases were recently approved outside of the matrix.

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County Clerk Keesa Mariman and Treasurer Layn Bruggeman guided the board through budget reviews for each department, making real-time adjustments and explaining figures. One of the most significant reductions came from the Sheriff’s Department, which trimmed its salary request from over $634,000 to $568,000 after working with the clerk’s office to refine estimates using actual employee figures. The jail budget also decreased slightly, dropping 1% from its original salary projection.

The County Attorney’s Office reduced its own request by about $700, resulting in a 1.48% decrease, while the Road and Bridge Department cut $600,000 from its asphalt line item. That savings came from postponing a major overlay project, although the county will still seal the affected road section to preserve it until full resurfacing can be funded in a future year.

The Landfill Department also adjusted its salaries and overtime projections, lowering its total from $459,000 to $418,000. Meanwhile, Emergency Management submitted a request to add a part-time position, increasing its budget line from $51,416 to $64,115 — a 25% hike that commissioners acknowledged but agreed to include in the preliminary budget to allow further discussion before final approval.

Commissioners also revisited their own compensation, ultimately approving increases to $25,310.73 annually for each commissioner and $25,835.73 for the chairman. These new salaries reflect both a flat raise of $2,250/year and $2,750/year) and the 5% matrix increase, though they will not receive the additional COLA that was extended to most other departments.

The county’s employee benefits budget — which includes retirement, Social Security, health insurance, and unemployment — was recalculated in light of the updated wage totals and adjusted accordingly. After review, commissioners lowered the health insurance projection from $1.3 million to $1.25 million and set the retirement allocation at $420,000, anticipating a slight drop in required employer contributions for 2026. Other benefit lines were adjusted to reflect updated staff counts and inflationary pressures.

To help offset the cost of benefits, the commission agreed to apply $89,000 from its oil and gas reserve fund. However, they declined to draw from the county’s separate $400,000 health insurance reserve, opting instead to preserve that fund in anticipation of possible future budget constraints. Several commissioners voiced concerns that upcoming state legislation may impose caps or restrictions on local spending and warned against overextending resources in the current year.

By the end of the workshop, the commissioners had reduced their preliminary mill levy increase from an initial estimate of over 13 Mills to just 3.398 Mills over the Revenue Neutral Rate. The revised budget includes all department adjustments, employee raises, and benefit funding, with publication deadlines set to meet the July 20 requirement for notifying the county clerk of any plans to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rare.

Commissioner Brad Flipse reflected on the difficult decisions, saying, “I’d rather justify a modest increase today than face a crisis next year. We’re investing in our staff and protecting taxpayers long-term.”

The board also acknowledged the effort made by department heads, most of whom submitted lean, needs-based budgets. “They’re not asking for extras,” Mariman said. “They’re asking for what they need to serve the public — and they’re sacrificing where they can.”

The meeting concluded at 12:38 p.m., with plans to finalize mill levy figures following confirmation of health insurance contributions and reserve fund balances. A special meeting was scheduled for Thursday, July 17th at 9 a.m. ahead of the final budget hearing for final revisions needed