Overview
Cherokee County adopted a 2026 budget authority of $17,116,254, funded in part by a 2025 ad valorem tax of $9,321,743. The General Fund ($6,276,889) is the largest levy fund, followed by Employee Benefits ($3,700,000) and Road & Bridge ($3,681,740). The proposed 2026 levy rate in the August 25, 2025 hearing notice is 37.939 mills, against a revenue-neutral rate of 30.605 mills, on an assessed valuation of $245,708,992. The certificate's Final Tax Rate column is blank (p. 3), so no final rate by fund is claimed on this page.
Source: Cherokee County 2026 adopted budget (county site, 31 pages), certificate p. 3 and hearing notice pp. 29–30.
At a glance — adopted budget 2026
Source: Cherokee County 2026 adopted budget, certificate p. 3, indebtedness statement p. 6, hearing notice p. 29.
General Fund — adopted 2026
January 1, 2026 cash $726,938 + receipts excluding the masked ad valorem line $3,649,922 = resources $4,376,860. Expenditures are $6,276,889. The foot of p. 9 gives: Tax Required $1,900,029; delinquent 7.2%; printed delinquency $136,232; ad valorem $2,036,261 — and $1,900,029 + $136,232 = $2,036,261 as printed.
Delinquency-computation gap — disclosed, not smoothed: 7.2% of $1,900,029 computes to $136,802, which is $570 more than the printed delinquency of $136,232. Both figures are shown as printed; the printed ad valorem total is the one that sums with the printed delinquency.
| Largest General Fund lines (p. 9) | 2026 amount |
|---|---|
| Sheriff & Jail | $3,587,016 |
| County Attorney | $465,196 |
| Courthouse | $439,862 |
| Treasurer | $401,150 |
| District Court | $271,100 |
| Clerk | $188,975 |
| Commission | $96,300 |
| Transfer to Technology Reserve | $91,500 |
These are the largest lines only; they are not the full General Fund expenditure detail and are not presented as summing to $6,276,889.
Source: Cherokee County 2026 adopted budget, General Fund pp. 8–9 (printed pp. 6/6a).
Funds — adopted 2026
Levy-fund authority sums to $15,449,388 and non-levy funds to $1,666,866, for a total of $17,116,254, matching the certificate. Levy-fund ad valorem sums exactly to $9,321,743. Blank means the certificate line is blank in the document, not zero.
| Fund | 2026 authority | 2025 ad valorem |
|---|---|---|
| General | $6,276,889 | $2,036,261 |
| Road & Bridge | $3,681,740 | $2,989,585 |
| Appraisal | $376,140 | $302,169 |
| Health | $520,801 | $121,023 |
| Direct Election | $213,050 | $133,850 |
| Noxious Weed | $102,588 | $30,728 |
| Extension Council | $252,622 | $225,172 |
| Fair | $30,000 | $29,623 |
| Emergency Medical Service | $4,843 | — |
| Elderly Services | $45,258 | $25,360 |
| Mental Health | $125,457 | $112,287 |
| Mental Retardation | $120,000 | $109,040 |
| Employee Benefits | $3,700,000 | $2,960,936 |
| Special Bridge | — | $245,709 |
| Debt Service | — | — |
| Conservation District | — | — |
| Levy funds subtotal | $15,449,388 | $9,321,743 |
Non-levy funds: Special Parks & Rec $6,000; Special Alcohol $19,212; Tourism & Promotion $8,000; Law Enforcement VIN $26,000; Emergency Telephone Tax $214,577; Prosecuting Attorney Training $5,028; County Attorney Law Enforcement $629; Spider Program $8,500; Half Cent Sales Tax $1,300,000; County Attorney Application Fee $19,436; Opioid Settlement $59,484 — summing to $1,666,866.
Source: Cherokee County 2026 adopted budget, certificate p. 3.
Debt & levy notes
Debt-scope note — both figures are shown, not reconciled: the Statement of Indebtedness (p. 6, printed p. 4) reports general obligation $0, revenue $0, other $0, total $0. But the hearing-notice summary on p. 29 shows Lease Purchase Principal of $1,994,939 in the 2025 column (2023: $2,697,059; 2024: $2,566,835), with bonds/other $0. This page does not reconcile the $0 indebtedness statement with the $1,994,939 lease-purchase principal; they are different statements in the same document.
Unreconciled rebate-schedule ad valorem: the rebate schedule on p. 30 gives a 2025 mill rate before rebate of 37.367 on ad valorem before rebate of $9,181,506 — which is $140,237 less than the certificate's $9,321,743. Both are reported as printed, unreconciled.
Levy: the certificate's Final Tax Rate column is blank (p. 3). The hearing notice (August 25, 2025, 10:00 AM, p. 29) proposes a 2026 total rate of 37.939 mills, including General 8.287, Road & Bridge 12.167, Employee Benefits 15.051 and Special Bridge 1.000, with a revenue-neutral rate of 30.605. Because the certificate rate column is blank, the 37.939 figure is labeled proposed throughout this page, not final.
Source: Cherokee County 2026 adopted budget, pp. 3, 6, 29–30.
Sources & notes
- Only source used: Cherokee County 2026 adopted budget (county-site PDF, 31 pages). Read the budget (PDF). The county's “2026 Approved County Budgets” listing is at cherokeecountyks.gov.
- Sum checks: certificate authority exact ($15,449,388 levy + $1,666,866 non-levy = $17,116,254); certificate ad valorem exact ($9,321,743); General Fund resources exact ($726,938 + $3,649,922 = $4,376,860); General Fund tax walk as printed ($1,900,029 + $136,232 = $2,036,261).
- Disclosed, not smoothed: (1) debt-scope note — $0 bonds on the indebtedness statement vs. $1,994,939 lease-purchase principal on p. 29; (2) unreconciled rebate-schedule ad valorem — $9,181,506 vs. certificate $9,321,743; (3) delinquency-computation gap — $136,802 computed vs. $136,232 printed; (4) blank signature/roll-call lines in this copy (see basis notice).
- Masked line: the budget-year ad valorem line on the General Fund page is masked; ad valorem figures come from the certificate and the fund-page foot computation.
- Jurisdiction palette: no verified Cherokee County palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a county color.