Lafayette County Northern District Commissioner Monica Ritter spoke about the process and the challenges the commission faced prior to approving the 2026 budget. Prior to finalizing the 2026 budget, Circuit Judge Josh Taylor issued a court order requiring the county to keep all deputies and jailers in the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department and retain any vacant positions among them. Commissioners had to utilize over a million dollars in cash carry-over funds from 2025 to make up the deficit in the budget. Faced with the challenge of declining countywide revenue, Ritter says the commission is exploring ways to strengthen the budget without increases to taxpayers. https://dehayf5mhw1h7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/1333/2026/01/29172353/monica-ritter-budget-issues-1-29-26.mp3The complete budget that commissioner approved is available below:Revenue: final-2026-rev-budgetExpenditures: final-2026-exp-budget