The 5.9% levy increase proposed in September was lowered by another 2% by the County Board at final adoption of the 2026 budget.
The Pope County Board of Commissioners adopted its final budget and property tax levy for 2026 at its regular Board meeting on December 16, agreeing to reduce the rise in the levy to 3.9%, two percent less than the levy increase of 5.9% preliminarily proposed in September.
The Board’s action continues its pattern of working to lower the property tax levy in each annual budget between the preliminary adoption in September and the final adoption in December. In late 2024, the Board lowered the 2025 property tax levy increase from 4.9% to 3.9% percent between preliminary and final adoption.
After a careful review of requested expenditures by County management and outside entities, consideration of the Board’s prior preliminary budget and levy adopted in September, and updates from County management on the County’s financial condition, the Board adopted a final property tax levy for 2026 of $11,420,799, which is 3.9% greater than the $10,992,107 levy approved for 2025. The Board again elected to mitigate the amount of levy dollars raised with a controlled, limited use of general fund balance reserves in 2026 of $71,593, down from the budgeted use of reserves of $260,915 approved for use in 2025.
The total final Pope County expenditure budget for 2026 was set at $22,742,358, with the portion of the budget not funded by property tax levy funded by program revenues, County Program Aid, and a limited amount of funding reserve.
The final adoption decision was the result of a six-month-long budget process, which included numerous budgetary meetings and reviews, as well as the County’s annual Truth-in-Taxation Hearing with members of the public on the evening of Thursday, December 4.