MARSHALL — Lyon County may be looking at some higher budget and levy increases in 2026, County Commissioners learned this week. In a budget update, Lyon County Administrator Loren Stomberg said preliminary numbers indicated the county may need to make some tough choices this fall.

“If we do status quo, it will be double digits,” Stomberg said of a possible preliminary budget increase. “If we want to get that down, we’re going to have to make some policy decisions on that, and prioritize the services that we need.”

Commissioners had discussed 2026 budget concerns in July, as well. At that time, Stomberg said Health and Human Services costs, property insurance costs, and a possible loss of rental income from offices at the county Government Center were all concerns. Those factors were still playing a part in budget planning, Stomberg said Tuesday.

“I just wanted to keep this on you guys’ radar. I have been working through some preliminary numbers on our budget. As you know, the things that have happened at the state level, the county itself hadn’t gotten hit too badly with cuts.” However, Stomberg said for planning purposes he was assuming that budget costs for Southwest Health and Human Services in Lyon County would be coming in at a 10% increase.

“I’m just assuming that they’re going to need to levy the max, because of the federal cuts that are going to get passed down through them. They’re the ones that got hit pretty hard,” Stomberg said.

Stomberg said the county’s health insurance fund had been using up a lot of its reserves, and would also need some increased funding.

“That’s going to present a bit of a hurdle, but we’ve got some options that we can use to smooth that out a little bit,” he said.

“Preliminary, we are looking at a double-digit increase right now. We’ve not had a double-digit increase on my watch. I hopefully don’t want that to happen,” Stomberg said. “But it is possible. Brace yourself for something over 10% at the first blush of the budget.”

The county needs to set a preliminary levy and budget in September.

“So obviously we want to get it below double digits,” said Commissioner Rick Anderson. The challenge would be seeing how low the county could realistically go on its 2026 budget and levy, he said.

Other commissioners said Lyon County isn’t alone in facing budget struggles for 2026.

“Every county I’ve talked to is kind of going through the same thing,” said Commissioner Gary Crowley.

“An increase like this obviously is painful for everyone, and we really try to avoid it,” said Commissioner Paul Graupmann. But he said Lyon County staff and commissioners have had a record of striving to keep budget and tax increases low. “Our 15-year running levy increase average is below 2%,” Graupmann said.