County passes $13 million budget

Custer County will spend $13.2 million in 2026, after the Custer County Commission formally approved its final budget for next year at a special Sept. 24 meeting.
The budget of $13,221,560 is up around $170,000 as compared to last year’s budget, which was $13,050,418.
The highway and bridge fund is down slightly, from $3.44 million a year ago to $3.4 million in 2026. The sheriff’s budget rose again this year, from $1.918 million last year to cresting $2 million for the first time at $2,031,663.
Most of the other items in the budget, such as the auditor, treasurer, state’s attorney, planning, etc., saw slight increases in their budgets, while some departments also decreased slightly. County Human Resources director Amber Maidens said the budget includes a slight raise for some employees, saying “employees for Custer County can expect anywhere betweeen a (zero) to 8 percent increase, which varies for each department and employee. The final increases will be given at the end of the year.
Estimated levies are 1.808 for the general fund, 0.295 for the courthouse fund, 0.587 for secondary roads and 0.203 for fire fighting, for a total of $2.865 per $1,000 of valuation. Levies are down slightly from a year ago, and in most cases the value of property once again rose in Custer County over the past year.
Levies are based on using a Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 3 percent and growth. The county will collect $5,987,041 in taxes to help fund its budget. The rest of the money is from other revenues.