Total county revenue for 2026 is budgeted at $1.09 billion, up 2.8% — or $29.3 million — over 2025. This is in part due to water and sewer rates increasing, but also a 6.6% increase in Medicaid reimbursement at Stillwater Center.
The county’s $242.9 million general fund, too, is expected to be $9.8 million (4.2%) higher than the 2025 general fund. This is funded in part by $152.7 million in taxes, $19.4 million in charges for service and other revenue.
Expenses for the county are expected to total $1.1 billion. This is 2.4%, or $25.6 million, higher than 2025 expenses.
Driving this is a $1.3 million increase to the mandated share the county must make for the programs like Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance. Building operations and rent expenses are also increasing by $1.1 million. The largest expense for the county is $150 million to cover personnel services like salary and employee benefits.
Colbert said the county’s role in filling gaps in the food assistance network this year — created by drops in federal and state funding to organizations that provide food to families and the disruption of federal food assistance benefits — were a lesson in adaptability.
“You, commissioners, need the flexibility with all of the political uncertainty, state and federal, the flexibility of employed resources where you need it… you have to have that because you don’t know what’s going to happen next,” Colbert told commissioners on Tuesday.
A portion of the county’s more than $310 million in reserves will cover the difference between expenses and revenue in the next year. That figure encompasses the reserves of county funds or departments, which must enter the year with cash reserves — at the lowest, 5% of their total budget.
Social Services
Social services funding for Montgomery County next year will total $464.5 million. This represents 41.9% of the county’s budget. The social services budget is offset by the county’s two Human Services levies.
Voters in November passed a property tax renewal for the Human Services Levy. Montgomery County’s two, 8-year social service levies generate $143.7 million in local funding that supports departments like Montgomery County Children Services, Montgomery County Developmental Disabilities Services, Montgomery County Alcohol Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services, Older Adult Services and Public Health - Dayton and Montgomery County.
Montgomery County Children Services receives the largest slice of the social services budget at $166 million for 2026, followed by Human Services Planning and Development ($154.8 million), Developmental Disabilities Services ($54.2 million), Stillwater Center ($31.6 million), Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services ($24.9 million), Workforce Development ($13.1 million) and the Veterans Services Commission ($2.8 million).
Another $17 million in expenses are linked to non-departmental costs, like YouthWorks, the county’s job development program for teens, and facility and business services.
Judicial and law enforcement
Taking up 22.7% of Montgomery County’s budget are judicial and law enforcement expenses, with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office netting $80.5 million.
Montgomery County’s juvenile court will receive $31.2 million in 2026, while Job and Family Services receives $19.6 million. Montgomery County Common Pleas has a 2026 budget of $18.7 million, followed by the Prosecutor’s Office ($16 million), the Clerk of Courts ($14.8 million) and the Coroner’s Office ($8 million).
An additional $29.5 million is budgeted for non-departmental expenses, like the county’s indigent defense services for residents who cannot afford to have a private attorney represent them in court, and facility costs.
Government and Debt
Another 17.4% of the 2026 budget is allocated to operating other county offices. Administrative services are the largest expense in this category at $122.9 million, followed by the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office at $18.2 million.
Other county offices funded are the Montgomery County Treasurer ($6.7 million), Board of Elections ($5.2 million), and Recorder ($2.2 million). Another $37.5 million goes toward business, data processing, non-departmental and miscellaneous expenses.
Environmental services, public works, others
Another $186.8 million is set aside for environmental and public works expenses. This primarily includes $160 million for Montgomery County Environmental Services and $24.9 million for the Montgomery County Engineer.
Soil and Water Conservation’s 2026 budget is $1.1 million, and less than $1 million is allocated to facility and non-departmental costs, like expenses related to the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency.
Another $5.4 million will fund the county’s community and economic development department. The Office of Budget and Management, too, will receive $3.8 million, and facilities management will receive $2.4 million.