Grand Forks County Continuing 2027 Budget Planning

(KNOX) – Grand Forks County is continuing to make out their budget planning for 2027. County departments are being instructed to reduce their operating budgets next year by up to 3%. This is to help with what will be an expected deficit in the overall budget. None of the budget requests presented this week are final, but the requested totals don’t include employee salaries or any benefits.

Sheriff Andy Schneider says the Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Office was able to decrease its operating budget to a little bit under $300,000, even though they did include some increases in boat safety, fuel costs and janitorial supplies. The total 2027 request from the sheriff’s office is about $1.35 million. The sheriff’s office received roughly $7 million in 2026.

Schneider also presented the Grand Forks County Correctional Center’s proposed 2027 operating budget. The Correctional Center is offering to cut $60,000 in holiday pay and $78,000 in inmate health insurance. There would be a $75,000 increase for medical costs. The total operations request is for approximately $3.5 million, where they recieved approximately $10 million in 2026.

County Engineer Nick West presented possible increases in the Highway Department, where he’s proposing $210,000 for new two-way plows. The highway department’s 2026 budget was roughly $4 million, and their 2027 operations request is for approximately $4.3 million. He added there could be a possibility of either purchasing some motor graders the department has been leasing, or change the lease agreement for a lower annual cost.

Grand Forks Public Health Director Tess Wall says her department was able to reduce 3.6% in non-salary expenses for county and city health. She says this can be done in part with grants.

The proposed budget does include an increase for employee salaries, and for dues and network service fees. The city/county health fund had approximately $678,000 in 2026 and is requesting a litte more than $718,000 for 2027.

State’s Attorney Haley Wamstad presented her office’s budget. Her budget includes a $25,000 request for a digital evidence management system. This could help manage and catalog digital evidence like footage from law enforcement body cameras, as well as surveillance video and phone data.

Some cuts in her budget would include mailing costs, office and computer supplies. The office’s total 2026 budget was nearly $3.7 million in 2026. The operating request is nearly $250,000 without including regular salaries or benefits.

Wamstad also is concerned that reducing benefits will not only make it more difficult for the county to attract new employees, but it will also make current employees look for employment with other government agencies in the region.

Director of Facilities Bill Gerszewski made his requests for buildings and utilities funding. He expects a 9% increase in electricity costs and an 8.7% increase for some natural gas supplies.

Buildings and grounds received roughly $1.7 million in the 2026 budget, with the 2027 budget request being around $720,000. The total 2026 allocation for utilities was about $783,000, while the 2027 budget request is nearly $863,000.

A major reduction he suggested is cutting recycling at county facilities by $12,000. He says the county has dealt with penalties in the past because other people have been using county dumpsters.

Gerszewski also mentioned some capital improvement projects for the county that would include retrofitting lighting in county buildings, as well as audio and visual upgrades for the County Office Building’s conference room. It would also include new laptops for county employees and a possible project with the former Youth Assessment Center and jail building.