Lafayette County Northern District Commissioner Monica Ritter spoke about the process and the challenges the commission faced prior to approving the 2026 budget.

Facing a $1.7 million deficit in the budget in December, commissioners began by meeting with county office holders to determine cuts and other expenditure reductions, which ultimately helped the county save more than $367,000.

Prior to finalizing the 2026 budget, Circuit Judge Josh Taylor issued a court order requiring the county to keep all deputies and jailers in the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department and retain any vacant positions among them. The order also required that these employees receive a six percent raise. Ritter says this order went against the county’s pay and hiring freeze for 2026.

 

Ritter says the order will cost the county approximately $240,000 in additional expenditures, not including health insurance and benefits costs.

Commissioners had to utilize over a million dollars in cash carry-over funds from 2025 to make up the deficit in the budget. Faced with the challenge of declining countywide revenue, Ritter says the commission is exploring ways to strengthen the budget without increases to taxpayers.

 

The complete budget that commissioner approved is available below:

Revenue: final-2026-rev-budget

Expenditures: final-2026-exp-budget