Lake County Administrator Sutton presented the county administrator's recommended fiscal year 2026 budget to the Financial and Administrative Committee on Oct. 9, outlining a total recommended budget of $673,400,000, a 2.2% increase over the prior year.

Sutton said the budget theme is "building a sustainable and collaborative future" and that departments were given aggressive targets to keep operating budgets stable, resulting in about a 1% increase in property-tax operating funds. The recommended budget uses half of the allowable property-tax increase — 1.45% — as the balancing assumption. "In total, the budget is a total of $673,400,000 which is a 2.2% increase over the prior year's budget," Sutton said.

The administrator highlighted methodological changes that affect fund comparisons: the workforce development program's budgeting is returning to normal annual budgeting after previously being emergency-appropriated, which raised special revenue fund totals; and capital project budgeting will focus on amounts likely to be spent next year rather than budgeting full multi-year project amounts, which reduces capital fund totals compared with prior years.

Personnel spending is a major driver; the recommended budget includes a 3% increase for nonunion wages and accounts for collective-bargaining agreements and step increases that produce an overall personnel growth of about 4.4%. Benefits are budgeted to rise 2.8%. Sutton said 2,644 full-time positions are included, seven more than the prior year, and departments submitted 41 new program requests totaling $10.6 million for FY2026; the administrator recommended 12 of those requests (some partially), and an alternate scenario using the full allowable property-tax increase would add about $2.7 million and seven additional recommended requests.

Sutton also noted that Moody's had reaffirmed the county's AAA-like rating in an issuer comment published Sept. 15 and that the county will present the full budget book to board members and the public ahead of budget hearings Oct. 21–22. The administrator said the recommended tax impact on an average homeowner (average home value assumed at $330,000, adjusted about 3%) would be roughly $9 under the half-PTEL scenario presented to the committee.

Committee members asked about revenue softness; Sutton said some economically sensitive revenues have leveled off and that the county's approach is cautious, keeping contingency funding in a central account rather than building excess contingency into each department's budget.