Balancing the Budget within State Requirements

June 2025 | Eric Jennings, Lawrence County Commissioner Opinion Editorial, Black Hills Pioneer

Is it just me or does it seem like we have been hearing a lot on the news about taxes and government spending. I may be more sensitive to those stories now that I am a county commissioner and can influence the counties tax rate and budget. Yes, I meant to say influence and not control, because while the county commission sets the budget, which determines how many property tax dollars we ask from the property owners, where we spend money and how much we are able to generate through property tax is determined by state statute.  

Our budgeted expenses are either authorized by state law or in the case of over 80 percent of our expenses, are required by law. We fund county services such as the Highway, Sheriff, Public Defender and States Attorney’s offices, and elections and expenses related to having a Veterans Service Officer. While the state mandates that we have those departments and programs, in most cases they don’t dictate how much we spend on them. We could spend less on roads, bridges, and law enforcement, but there are consequences to spending less. We have very good roads to travel on in Lawrence County, a trip into other counties makes you appreciate just how good our roads are. Our highway department has a schedule to apply additional gravel to gravel roads every nine years. They also keep the asphalt roads in good condition by oiling, chip-sealing or applying an asphalt overlay as needed. Spending less would result in longer intervals of re-graveling and less maintenance on hard surfaced roads, and overall poorer condition of our roads.  

The same can be said for the sheriff’s department.  We can satisfy the state requirements for law enforcement with a smaller sheriff’s department.  But at what cost?  A smaller department would result in longer response times to emergencies by officers who are not as well equipped or trained. We may never experience a situation requiring an emergency response, but if we do, we want a well trained and equipped officer there quickly. 

Other county expenses, such as public libraries and extension programs, are authorized by the state.  These departments and programs affect the quality of life in our communities, and if the county didn’t help fund them, they may not exist. The County Commission chooses how much to spend on each line-item, but we are capped by state law on how much we can increase our total budget each year. To put it plainly, we are told by the state how much property tax money we can collect and where it needs to be spent.  It is up to the commission to make it all work.

County departments, agencies, and non-profits are submitting their budgets and requests for funding to the auditor’s office for the 2026 budget year. The commission will begin setting the budget at the end of June and will present a final budget by the end of September as required by state law. All budget meetings are open to the public. Please follow along with the process and consider attending the public hearing on September 2 to provide input on the budget.