- Public safety spending rises over 10%, the largest increase in the proposed budget
- No new taxes or fees; revenue growth driven by increased payroll tax collection
- General fund projected at $83M with stable staffing levels and adjusted reserves
The Boone County Fiscal Court has released its proposed budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, with public safety spending seeing the largest increase.
Boone County Administrator Matthew Webster presented the budget plan to the legislative body on Tuesday, April 28, and reviewed the financial changes from last year’s budget. Webster said the core themes of the proposed budget are to sustain the quality of life within the county, preserve vital services and maintain financial stability.
Moreover, Webster said the budget was calculated without raising or introducing taxes, relying instead on conservative revenue projections and existing funding sources.
“I can tell you up front, the budget is based on no new tax, no tax rate increases or no new fees,” he said.
Once again, payroll tax collection remained the primary revenue source for the general fund, with property tax collection ranking second.
Based on Webster’s presentation, the county’s general fund is projected to generate about $83 million, up from roughly $81 million in the current fiscal year – a 2.8% increase, which he attributes to moderate growth in payroll taxes. Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore later clarified that the growth was due to an increase in county jobs, thereby raising the amount of payroll taxes collected.
Conversely, county expenditures are expected to reach $65.8 million, up from nearly $64 million this fiscal year. Webster attributed the spending increase to investments in Boone County’s public safety infrastructure.
“We’ve, I think, focused on areas where the court has identified as high priorities with law enforcement, public safety,” he said.
Personnel costs are Boone County’s largest expense, representing 58.5% of the general fund and 34.3% of the total operating budget. Overall, Boone County will look to maintain a full-time staff headcount of 288, consistent with the current fiscal year.
“As always, personnel, personnel-related expenditures are the biggest component of our budget,” he said. “The most important asset we have are our people that do the work out there each and every day for the citizens of Boone County, and that is reflected as the largest expenditure category that you’ll see in the budget.”
Boone County’s reserve fund in the proposed budget is $28.4 million, a small drop from this fiscal year. Webster explained that the county has adjusted its reserve funds after temporary federal aid, like ARPA and CARES Act funds, inflated balances in previous years. These funds have now been fully allocated to infrastructure projects, including broadband expansion and water system upgrades.
Boone County is also boosting its external support for the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky, the region’s bus system, by 6% to $8.5 million. This is a smaller increase compared to the previous fiscal year’s 11% rise, which brought funding to $8 million. Webster attributed the increase to the county trying to keep pace with inflation, which has raised operating costs for the transit service.
TANK is funded through a combination of federal, state and local government contributions, along with fare revenue. The transit authority is collectively financed by Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties through their annual budgetary allocations.
The largest expected budget increase is in public safety, rising from $26.5 million to $29.2 million – an over 10% boost.
The upcoming steps in the budget process include individual meetings with commissioners and a public hearing. A first reading is scheduled for late May, with final adoption planned for early June. The aim is to complete the budget before the statutory July 1 deadline, while providing enough time for revisions and public input.
“This work began, really, in January, with each department, really starting to fine-tune what each department, what they foresee needed in the next budget, working toward it, of course, tracking our data as far as expenses and revenues as they’re coming and going,” Moore said. “To get us to this point today has been an amazing amount of time and energy and talent.”
