WARREN — Trumbull County departments this week are providing budget proposals for 2026 that are needed and, if possible, allow them to make improvements in services.

The commissioners in 2025 attempted to operate on an austere general fund budget, cutting requests because the county projected a $64.5 million budget for the year.

The commissioners office cut its own budget in 2025 by approximately $3 million to ensure there would be enough to complete the year. Looking toward 2026, the commissioners expect having an equally tight budget.

County Recorder Dawn Zinni-Hanni is asking the county to provide her office just over $1.4 million for 2026.

Zinni emphasized that the department added a $5 fee in 2025, which brought in between $10,000 and $30,000 more per month than in prior years.

She told the commissioners she would like to fill two open positions in the office.

County Dog Warden Michelle Goss noted she is requesting a nearly identical budget provided to her in 2025, but said the amount needed is slightly higher because of raises and health care benefits that were negotiated between union officials and the county.

Trumbull’s dog pound has seven employees, including Goss.

She projects the department will need between $200,000 and $300,000 in 2026.

Domestic Relations Judge Sam Bludorn also is asking for nearly the same amount requested in 2025, except for required wage increases negotiated in union contracts and increasing health care costs.

Trumbull County Human Resources Director Alexandra DeVengencie-Bush told the commissioners that health insurance costs are expected to increase to just over 10.7% for 2026. She earlier recommended department heads to include a 14% increase in their budget estimates for health care costs, because that was the level of increase the county had to pay for health care costs in 2025.

Domestic/Juvenile Court Judge David Engler told the commissioners that he plans to submit an amendment to the juvenile court’s budget request in order to establish a $750,000 assessment center in the court and another $25,000 to establish a virtual legal help program with Mahoning County.

The assessment program will help the court determine if juveniles should be sent through the court system or a different area that would better address their immediate physical and psychological needs.

“You need to get them someplace immediately to make sure they know there are consequences to their actions,” Engler said. “You need to find out if there is trouble at home or at their school. It is a great tool to have to be responsive to the kids that are coming into the juvenile system.”

The proposed virtual help center would help those people who are seeking to represent themselves in court to correctly obtain and fill out documents required for court.

Commissioner Denny Malloy questioned if something can be done to reduce the number of people in the courts making more than $90,000 a year in salaries.

“There are about three dozen people learning, at least, that amount,” Malloy said.

Bluedorn suggested there are so many people in these courts earning around that amount because of the number of years they’ve worked for the county.

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins is asking for $200,000 more for 2026 than his office received in 2025.

Watkins is hoping to add an additional assistant county prosecutor to address the disparity between his staff and that of the public defenders office and other defense attorneys handling criminal cases.

The 11-term Trumbull prosecutor noted that early in his career there would be one prosecutor versus one defense attorney in most cases. Increasingly, it is one prosecutor versus two to three defense attorneys.

The prosecutor’s civil division also is handling more non-criminal cases, Watkins noted.

Neither Trumbull’s Central and Eastern Division courts are asking for significant increases in their budgets.

Trumbull 911 Director Tacy McDonough is asking for the same budget level that was provided over the last two years.

Malloy questioned why the department has only one supervisor.

McDonough noted that over the last year three supervisors were hired, but quit after a short period of time.

At this time, McDonough and DeVengencie-Bush noted they currently are concentrating on getting and retaining dispatchers rather than supervisors.

Malloy described numerous people working at Trumbull’s family court making more than dispatchers that have a maximum base earning potential of $53,000 a year.

“These are people who don’t have the same stress level as dispatchers,” Malloy said.

McDonough described the disparity of pay as a national problem, not a Trumbull county problem.

While acknowledging that Trumbull 911 dispatchers are some of the lowest paid, McDonough noted for this Mahoning Valley area they are being paid on par to their peers.

“If you go to the Columbus area, you’re looking at dispatchers that are starting at $27 per hour to $28 per hour,” she said.

McDonough believes moving into a new county 911 Center would help to draw people to the jobs.

“People would see that Trumbull is putting money where its mouth is,” she said.

Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder said the county’s estimated revenue will be $62 million.

She described her office’s budget if funded by the county’s general fund and the real estate assessment fund.

“This year, the auditor’s office brought in just over $3.2 million to the county’s budget,” Yoder said.

Trumbull County Metroparks requested to increase its operating budget from $130,000 in 2025 to $150,000 in 2026.

“We want to hire a part time clerk,” Svette said.

Zachary Svette, director of Trumbull County Metroparks, also requested the county consider providing $300,000 in their capital improvement budget to renovate a log cabin in Braceville due to its historical nature.

Svette described an effort to do repairs on the bike trail over a five-year period.

Malloy asked if there has been an effort to raise money through donations.

“I would think this is more of a community type of thing,” he said.

Commissioner Rick Hernandez suggested they may be able to ask their fundraising group to find funding sources.