COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The year is not quite halfway done but work has already begun on the 2027 Branch County budget.
The Branch County Board of Commissioners have been presented a timeline by County Administrator Frank Walsh which calls for budget worksheets to be available starting on July 17.
Meetings with elected officials and department heads will be held between August 10 and 19. The adoption of the budget is planned for November 10 which will be the second straight year the formal adoption would take place before Thanksgiving.
Branch County’s 2026 general fund budget of over $19-point-2 million was formally adopted by the Board of Commissioners last November as Walsh changed the budget process. Before Walsh took over, the county budget was formally adopted by the Commissioners during their final meeting of the year in December.
In other business on Tuesday, the Commissioners formally approved a request from Drain Commissioner Mike Hard that the County waive soil erosion permit fees for those involved in the March tornado in Sherwood Township including those living on Tuttle Road and Prairie Rose Lane. It is required that inspections are done once a month, with the cost to the county being about $85 a month and $1,000 a year. The Drain Commissioner is offering to do the inspections. The County can’t waive the permit but can waive the fee.
Commissioners also formally approved a contract with Hyper-Reach out of Canada to provide Mass Emergency Notification services at a cost of $12,500. The current Code Red service ends August 6. County officials have expressed their unhappiness with Code Red over several issues during the last year. Code Red had served Branch County since the early 90s.
The County plans to get the word out about the new Hyper Reach services using radio, social media and county websites. Residents could be notified of severe weather by simply downloading the app on an IOS or Android device.
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