COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Branch County Administrator Frank Walsh said on Thursday morning the county is in a strong financial position as he reported on the proposed 2027 budget during the Board of Commissioners work session.
The 2027 General Fund Budget is over $1-point-9 million more than the previous year’s spending plan.
It is estimated to be $20,806,230 which is higher than the 2026 budget of $18,846,610.
Included is a $1 million expenditure for county facility improvements. Walsh said in his report, “We will continue to enhance our courthouse security. We are fully funding overnight patrols. We are replacing three patrol cars. The Veterans Affairs Office will have additional staffing. We plan to deposit $150,000 in surplus funds into MERS. We have budgeted the third payment for the in-car cameras/body cameras.”
Walsh stated a budget surplus of over $226,000 is expected at the end of 2027.
Meanwhile, the proposed 2027 annual budget for Branch County increased by two-point-eight percent to over $84 million. That budget is spread over the General Fund and 67 Special Funds. Included is a three percent across the board wage increase.
While the proposed 2027 General Fund budget is balanced without the use of fund balance, Walsh cautioned there are several one-time revenues embedded into the budget that are not stable sources of money such as opioid funds and the marijuana tax.
It turned out the county had a better financial year in 2026 than expected. This year’s budget initially anticipated revenues to exceed expenditures by over $365,000 but Walsh reported 2026 revenues outpaced expenses by $1,062,263. Among the positive sources were tax revenue and interest earnings.
According to Walsh, over $4-point-3 million has been added to the county’s fund balance in the last three years.
A public hearing on the proposed budget will take place during the Commissioners meeting on October 27 at 4:35 p.m.. A copy of the proposed budget is available for public inspection at the Branch County Administrator’s office or on the county’s website, www.countyofbranch.com, beginning on October 13.
Copies are also available by email at finance@branchcounty.gov.
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