SKOWHEGAN — Somerset County officials are nearing approval of a proposed $25.18 million spending plan that would come with no overall increase to property taxes.

The five-member Board of Commissioners approved the spending proposal for the 2026 fiscal year in March, and the 10-member Budget Committee reviewed it a few weeks later.

The next step is a public hearing 6 p.m. Monday at the Somerset County Courthouse at 41 Court St. in Skowhegan, upstairs in the Superior Court.

After listening to any public comments, the Budget Committee is expected to vote on the proposal, sending it back to the commissioners for final approval at their May 7 meeting.

Spending in the proposed budget totals approximately $11.72 million for the jail and $13.46 million for all other departments.

The departments include the nonjail divisions of the Sheriff’s Office, emergency management agency, 911 communications center, registry of deeds, probate court, and district attorney’s office. The total does not include the unorganized territories’ budget, which came in just under $3 million and was sent to the state for approval in December.

Of $25,176,513 in proposed spending, property taxes would fund about $15 million, not including a 1% overlay to be added to the municipalities’ assessments, budget figures show. That amount, $14,996,031, is $44 less than the current year’s budget.

The slight decrease overall does not mean every Somerset County municipality will pay the same county assessment this year as it did last year. Each municipality’s share of the budget is calculated based on its property valuation calculated by the state as a percentage of the county’s total valuation.

For example, Skowhegan’s assessment in the proposed budget would decrease from this year, while Madison’s would increase, Somerset County Administrator Tim Curtis said.

“It’s unfortunate because some towns, like Bingham, Madison and a couple others, got hit with like a 25% increase to their valuation,” Curtis said.

The $14,996,031 in proposed spending to be funded by taxation breaks down to exactly $6.9 million for the jail and approximately $8.10 million for the rest of the county departments. The $6.9 million for the jail is the same as the current year’s budget.

State law caps the amount a Maine county can increase taxes for funding its jail. Raising the cap was not necessary this year, as the overall jail spending plan stayed flat, Curtis said.

The jail is also now fully staffed for the first time in years, which has led to some cost savings, as county officials could calculate more precise costs for staff benefits and overtime and reserve pay, Curtis said.

“Being fully staffed is actually a good thing, for the functionality of the jail and the budget as well,” he said.

Curtis said the budget proposes using about $130,000 in fund balance to offset taxation. The county has a three-year plan to use fund balance over the next three years to keep overall tax increases under 3%.

The budget also includes using about $713,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds, Curtis said. Somerset County has used $9 million in the last four years, he said, and this is the last budget that will include those federal dollars. In the proposed budget, the funds are to be used to offset costs for Sheriff’s Office administration and at the county communications center.

Other revenue sources include the jail’s contract to house some federal inmates, which is set to increase from about $1.52 million to $1.73 million, records show.

Curtis said the only new positions are in the Sheriff’s Office: an 18th patrol deputy position and a quartermaster.

The only other new major expense, Curtis said, is the Axon camera system for the Sheriff’s Office. The five-year contract with Axon for body cameras, cruiser cameras and artificial intelligence technology that assists with report writing has a net increase of about $40,000 each year, compared to other camera technology previously in the budget.

The county paid a larger amount of the Axon contract up front out of the current year’s budget, as funds were available, Curtis said. The county also signed another contract with Axon for data storage software for the district attorney’s office, also paying that cost up front out of the current budget.

“Instead of raising more money from taxation, we’re just kind of using what we already had in reserves and trying to be cognizant of that going forward,” Curtis said.

Somerset County’s charter dictates a budget preparation process that is somewhat different from other Maine counties.

With the assistance of the administrator and department heads, the Board of Commissioners first creates a proposed budget. The Budget Committee can then change the commissioners’ proposal.

After holding a public hearing, the Budget Committee, made up of two municipal officials from each of the five commissioners’ districts, then approves the budget and sends it back to the Board of Commissioners to adopt.

The Board of Commissioners can make changes only at that stage with a two-thirds majority vote, the charter says. Even then, the Budget Committee can override any changes made by the Board of Commissioners with its own two-thirds majority.

This year’s Budget Committee members were Fairfield Town Councilor Stephanie Thibodeau, Norridgewock Board of Assessors member James Lyman, Starks Planning Board member Ken Lust, Mercer Selectman Gary Mosher, Cambridge Selectman Michael Watson, Detroit Selectman Brett Salisbury, Skowhegan Selectman Steven Govoni, Cornville Planning Board member Julian Payne, Canaan Selectman Jeffrey Clarke and Solon Selectwoman Elaine Aloes, who served as chair.