The Johnson County Council discusses an agenda item at their Monday meeting at the Johnson County West Annex in Franklin. Daily Journal screenshot from Zoom
With funding for road repairs and investments in public safety, the Johnson County budget has been adopted with close to $10 million more in the general fund than 2024.
The Johnson County Council unanimously approved an approximately $82.3 million budget on Monday with $56.7 million allocated to the general fund. Some changes over last year’s budget include funding for Smith Valley Road improvements and other road repairs, investments in public safety, and adjustments to employee pay and stipends.
“The 2025 budget is balanced and fiscally responsible, ensuring the county’s financial stability,” said Pam Burton, council president, via email. “It also maintains sufficient reserves to safeguard against any unforeseen economic challenges or downturns.”
Burton said the Smith Valley Road improvements have been a priority for the county for the past three years. To address “these critical infrastructure needs,” $12 million has been allocated from the general fund in 2025 with an additional $15 million from the EDIT fund.
Within the Johnson County Highway Department’s budget, there is $4.1 million for the annual road maintenance program for 2025, which provides an 11% increase over the 2024 budget, Burton said. The increase is largely because of personnel health insurance costs being shifted from the highway budget to the general fund, which Burton said is supported by the council and the commissioners.
There is also approximately $600,000 allocated for maintenance items like road signs, culvert pipes and salt for winter road treatments.
For the courts, there is allocated funding to enhance the efficiency of operations, improve access and ensure timely case processing. Investments are being made in technology upgrades, additional staffing and support services, Burton said.
For the jail and sheriff’s office, the focus is on maintaining safety, security and rehabilitation efforts through funding for staff training, facility improvements and programs aimed at reducing recidivism while addressing mental health and substance abuse needs for incarcerated individuals.
“The 2025 budget prioritizes public safety by ensuring that both the judicial system and law enforcement agencies have the resources necessary to serve the community effectively,” Burton said.
The county council adopted a $41 million total tax levy with a $23.5 million tax levy for the general fund. The total 2025 tax rate is expected to remain consistent with the 2024 tax rate.
For the past three years, the county has qualified for a tax levy appeal which allows the county to get more of its tax money to support services. Counties can apply for a levy appeal when local growth is higher than the state’s growth rate.
The requested amount of the appeal for 2025 is approximately $1.6 million and would be used to help balance the budget, Burton said. The levy appeal isn’t a done deal, as it has to be approved by the state. The appeal could be approved, denied or awarded at a lesser amount.
When it comes to employee pay, there was much debate during 2025 budget deliberations over how large of a pay raise employees should receive. While the council opted to limit pay raises to 5%, some department heads argued for higher raises, like the county commissioners who fought for stipends for the assistant county attorney and county coordinator.
Despite staying consistent with only 5% raises and no stipends during most of the budget hearings, Burton read a statement during the Monday meeting after understanding the commissioners could take legal action for the county attorneys compensation.
The council sought guidance from the State Board of Accounts regarding the salary line items for the Johnson County attorneys and while the commissioners set the compensation, the council approves the appropriation, Burton said. The council does not have the authority to change the wage independently but can negotiate if the compensation seems unreasonable and if an agreement isn’t reached, which in this case it wasn’t, legal action can be taken, she said.
“I personally do not believe court involvement would be ideal, considering this change will have a minimal impact on the 2025 budget. Should this matter have moved to the legal system, there would be additional costs to the taxpayers for this council to retain independent outside legal representation,” she said at the meeting. “Based on this information disclosed to you today, I recommend accepting the commissioner’s proposed changes to the attorney compensation for the 2025 budget.”
The council, unanimously among the members present, approved Monday a $10,000 supplement for the assistant county attorney and increased the county attorney’s salary to $103,449.
Council member John Ditmars warned Monday that budget meetings could be contentious again in the future if there is not an “objective” person to evaluate requests. Burton told the Daily Journal via email that hiring an HR person or consultant would fall under the purview of the commissioners and would not be a decision made by the council.
Burton said the council is committed to evaluating the budget “comprehensively” each year and will make adjustments as necessary moving forward.
“The county’s needs are always evolving, and each budget cycle requires a thorough review to ensure we are addressing those needs responsibly,” she said. “While this year’s budget involved difficult decisions, including discussions around raises, we remain committed to evaluating the budget comprehensively each year. Moving forward, we will continue to make adjustments as necessary to support the county’s priorities while ensuring fiscal responsibility.”
