Union County reviews budget requests

With a new fiscal year on the horizon, the Union County Board of Supervisors heard requests from various departments during Monday’s regular board meeting.

Union County Recorder Katie Carlton, in her funding request for fiscal year 2026, requested updates for computers to be added to next year’s budget. The operating system for computers is Windows 10, which will soon be declared obsolete by Microsoft, the creator of Windows. Updating the OS requires a fee to be paid, which was requested to be added to the budget.

Carlton also made a request to begin paying for postage notices for renewals of vehicles like boats and ATVs. Last year, Union County gave their notices through options such as electronic communication and posting through social media, which was cost-effective but was also limiting to the reach of people who might not see these digital notices.

“It’s not getting to the right people,” Carlton said.

For one situation, sending renewal notices to all 790 boat owners in Union County, which are required every three years, would cost the county $440. The county board wondered if the amount of penalty fees paid by those who did not renew their vehicles would justify an increase to the budget.

The budget Carlton proposed would include an increase in budget of 5.9%. Carlton justified her department’s value to the county by describing it as a type of “customer service” for Union County residents.

Union County Auditor Sandy Hysell presented her funding request for the next fiscal year. She lowered a cost for printing and supplies, attributing to savings made during the previous year. New computers were added to the budget, with two current computers being declared obsolete.

Materials for elections next years would create an increase to the budget. Hysell budgeted costs for a city-school, primary and a potential special election. The city-school election will take place in November, and the primary election will take place June 2026. The special election is to be used in an emergency situation which would require the replacement of a suddenly vacant position.

Kathryn Polson from North Risk Partners gave a presentation to the county board discussing health insurance as the county’s health service provider. A 6.93% increase was proposed to be added to the budget, measuring at about $1,300 more per employee.

Supervisor Dennis Hopkins gave suggestions around “tightening the gap” of disparity in the single and family healthcare plans and asking if it would be possible to provide an “opt-out” option. He clarified this line of ideas was not meant to dissuade county employees from enrolling in health insurance, but rather to accommodate unique scenarios which would allow for both the county and employee to save money by opting out.

Union County Building and Grounds Coordinator Shawn Lauer also made a request for funding. A budget for buildings and grounds next year was requested for $177,600, a 3% increase of operating costs and a total adjusted budget increase of 4.8% when accounting for increases to employee salaries.

Increased prices of vendors was attributed to an increased operating cost. Additional costs related to the maintenance of various county buildings were also discussed.

In other county board news...

Teena Dike’s resignation as a Dodge Township Trustee was accepted by the board. Dike no longer lives in the district. Her replacement will be Sam McKnight who agreed to the position and was accepted by the county board.