Ellis County administrator presents near-flat 2027 budget; commissioners weigh cuts

County administrator Darren Myers presented the third draft of Ellis County’s 2027 budgets, telling commissioners the plan is essentially flat: "only a slight increase in the budget by $5,221" on a roughly $34,000,000 total. Myers said the draft reflects multiple revenue and cost shifts, including state changes to personal property taxation, oil valuation declines and changes in interest income that together affect the county’s bottom line.

Myers outlined several specific items shaping the numbers: increases to health insurance and property/liability coverage, timing shifts that move step-pay increases and COLA out of July into later months, and a $300,000 estimated revenue impact tied to interest-rate movements. He also said earlier bond approvals are structured so those projects and their payments are not paid for by property tax and do not appear in the budgeted funds. Commissioners suggested a range of small cuts and adjustments — from trimming transfers to reserves to modest changes in highway and outside-agency allocations — and cautioned that deeper reductions could delay road and bridge projects or other planned work.

The board heard options for getting the 2027 budget below the 2026 level, including modest additional reductions to special funds and relying on pending employee‑related adjustments to narrow the gap. Myers said the final draft will be entered into state forms ahead of an August 11 meeting, with formal publication to follow; he reminded commissioners that after publication they can only decrease the budget, not increase it. The commission set a next review for August 11 with final revenue-neutral rate and adoption hearings scheduled for the September meeting.