Nasty. The word Hamilton County Supervisors chairman Rick Young described the upcoming budget for the Fiscal Year 2026-27 adopted Wednesday evening. The upcoming fiscal year will have an impact on Hamilton County residents and services .Over the last few months, the Hamilton County Supervisors have been meeting with county officials and department head working on all the numbers for the Fiscal Year. There will be nearly $900,000 in cuts to county departments as the new fiscal year starts this July First. Departments that will experience cutbacks in finances will be Hamilton County Economic Development at $150,000. Hamilton County Public Health and Hamilton County Conservation both seeing a cut back of $125,000. The Conservation Department will put a pause on the natural resources/wildlife management program starting this July 1st and the ceasing of the environment education program starting January 1,2027. Other financial cutbacks include the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department with $25,000 and the County Jail with $5000. The Hamilton County Secondary Road Department will see a cut back of $130,000 in funding with a project delay for roads estimated at $150,000. The Supervisors will be slashing $17,000 in services to the county libraries in Ellsworth, Jewell, Stanhope, Stratford, Webster City, and in Williams. The Hamilton County Fair Board will set a cut from the county at $21,000. The Briggs Woods Conference Center will experience a $138,000 cut financially. Elderbridge will see a cut of $6,650. UDMO (Upper Des Moines Opportunity) at $7,500. The Hamilton County Veterans Affairs office with a cut of $48,000 in its budget from the county. As for the Hamilton County Supervisors, there will be a cut of $4000.
Hamilton County Conservation director Brian Lammers informed the Supervisors that if the financial picture for Iowa continues to fall, there is the possibility that one of the three parks in Hamilton County could close due to more financial cuts in the future.
The Hamilton County Supervisors approved a 3 percent increase in the salaries of the county’s elected officials effective July 1,2026. There will be no increase in the salaries for the Hamilton County Superviors.
A copy of the budget numbers for Hamilton County starting July 1st is on the KQWC Facebook page. The audio of the Wednesday evening budget can be heard on the KQWC Radio podcast page at kqradio.com under the podcast page.