Issue 11 of 12
Where your $163.5 million goes.
Delaware County's 2026 budget, mapped so you can actually see it: which offices get the money, what it buys, and how fast spending is growing.
2026 appropriations
$163.5M
adopted Nov 24, 2025
Change vs 2025
+8.1%
up $12.3M from $151.2M
Per resident
$653
on the county planning projection of 250,509; $687 on the Census 2024 estimate of 237,966
Salaries + benefits
52.8%
county government is people
What this number is. $163.5 million is the total 2026 appropriations the commissioners approved (operating plus capital). The county's own budget chart calls it "the General Fund budget," but it actually spans several funds: the Engineer is funded mostly by state gas-tax road money, and Elections, the Public Defender, and Veterans Service are directed by separate boards. Sewer, levy, and grant funds sit outside it entirely.
The map
One picture of the whole budget.
Every rectangle is a budget line; bigger rectangle, more money, and each major division has its own color. The Commissioners' $51.4M umbrella shows its departments nested right inside it. Hover any tile for detail, or switch views for the umbrella close-up and the expense-type breakdown.
"What it buys" has no 2025 comparison, so change coloring applies to the office views. Figures: adopted budgets, Resolutions 24-975 and 25-1007.
What it means
Three things the map makes obvious.
77.7%
of the budget sits in three umbrellas: Commissioner-run departments, the Sheriff, and the Engineer. Nearly 78 cents of every dollar. Whoever sits on the board shapes most of this directly.
52.8%
pays salaries and benefits. County government is deputies, EMS crews, engineers, court staff, and election workers. Cutting spending materially means changing services and staffing, not trimming office supplies.
78%
of this year's $12.3M increase landed in just four areas: Engineer (+$3.3M), Sheriff (+$3.3M), Commissioner-run departments (+$1.9M), and Veterans Service (+$1.1M). Growth drives the budget, so growth should pay for itself.
Play with it
Explore the budget.
The same dollars as a ring you can travel: the inner ring is the budget's major groups, the next ring is each office, and the outer ring opens up the Commissioners' departments.
Click any wedge to zoom in (the small court offices get much easier to see), and click the center to zoom back out. Same colors as the map above.
Chapter two: the trend
Growing faster than the county itself.
The 2026 number is one frame of a longer film. Here is the adopted budget since 2019, and how its growth compares with prices and population.
Total adopted budget by year
Budget: 2020 was not published in a comparable form; 2021 is approximate (hollow point). 2023 shown as originally adopted ($130.6M; the county later restated it to $136.8M as its 2024 comparison base). Population: Census 2020 count and Census Bureau estimates; the 2026 point (hollow) is the county planning commission's projection.
Growth since 2022
Adopted budget $128.8M (2022) to $163.5M (2026). CPI-U cumulative Dec 2022 to Dec 2026 (BLS). Population from Census Bureau county estimates, extrapolated to 2026.
The other side of the ledger
$7,069,025
returned to property owners in 2026 through the inside-millage rollback, renewed for a fifth straight year. About $32 million returned since 2022.
Who grew since 2022.
Change in each office's adopted budget from 2022 to 2026. The Sheriff added the most dollars (+$12.8M); Veterans Service grew fastest; the Recorder is the only office that shrank.
* From 2023, the first year the office was reported separately. All figures are adopted budgets, so they include capital projects and one-time items: the Engineer's swings reflect road and bridge project timing, and the Veterans Service jump is a deliberate 2026 expansion of support services.
The numbers
Every office, both years.
| Office | 2025 adopted | 2026 adopted | Change | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioner-run departments | $49,482,208 | $51,371,520 | +$1,889,312 | +3.8% |
| Sheriff | $40,115,537 | $43,379,782 | +$3,264,245 | +8.1% |
| Engineer | $29,003,034 | $32,314,396 | +$3,311,362 | +11.4% |
| Juvenile/Probate Court | $5,834,407 | $6,448,092 | +$613,685 | +10.5% |
| Prosecutor | $4,323,099 | $4,803,445 | +$480,346 | +11.1% |
| Board of Elections | $4,593,742 | $4,682,033 | +$88,291 | +1.9% |
| Common Pleas Court | $3,523,323 | $4,004,935 | +$481,612 | +13.7% |
| Veterans Service | $2,124,216 | $3,250,500 | +$1,126,284 | +53.0% |
| Domestic Relations Court | $2,903,993 | $3,163,553 | +$259,560 | +8.9% |
| Public Defender | $2,430,231 | $2,574,635 | +$144,404 | +5.9% |
| Auditor | $2,261,633 | $2,472,803 | +$211,170 | +9.3% |
| Clerk of Courts | $1,446,602 | $1,701,498 | +$254,896 | +17.6% |
| Treasurer | $1,201,650 | $1,271,864 | +$70,214 | +5.8% |
| Coroner | $732,380 | $751,725 | +$19,345 | +2.6% |
| Recorder | $573,100 | $615,592 | +$42,492 | +7.4% |
| Municipal Court | $591,980 | $611,088 | +$19,108 | +3.2% |
| Court of Appeals | $50,000 | $50,000 | +$0 | +0.0% |
| Total appropriations | $151,191,135 | $163,467,461 | +$12,276,326 | +8.1% |
Inside the Commissioners' umbrella.
The largest line, $51.4 million, is not the cost of three commissioners. It is every department that reports through the board, and most of it is services you recognize. (Job and Family Services and Child Support Enforcement are budgeted in separate funds outside the General Fund.)
| Department | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioners General (incl. countywide transfers) | $19,948,996 | $19,904,995 |
| Emergency Medical Services | $15,375,475 | $16,707,645 |
| Land and Buildings (Facilities Management) | $4,729,693 | $5,036,303 |
| Building Safety | $3,031,999 | $3,055,557 |
| Commissioners Admin | $1,607,846 | $1,816,735 |
| Human Services | $1,455,534 | $1,567,253 |
| County Garage | $1,198,018 | $1,214,487 |
| Human Resources | $953,423 | $946,057 |
| Records Center | $440,622 | $452,392 |
| Public Info / Community Relations | $316,672 | $315,802 |
| Community Pre Hospital Care Board | $225,100 | $210,000 |
| Employee Safety | $128,082 | $123,135 |
| County Home | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| Zoning | $5,748 | $6,159 |
Five years, every office.
Adopted budgets, 2022 through 2026. Totals: $113,275,365 (2019), $128.8M (2022), $130.6M (2023), $143.8M (2024), $151.2M (2025), $163.5M (2026).
| Office | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioner-run departments | $47,358,915 | $49,613,401 | $47,698,498 | $49,482,208 | $51,371,520 |
| Sheriff | $30,574,521 | $33,510,632 | $37,461,314 | $40,115,537 | $43,379,782 |
| Engineer | $25,153,500 | $19,719,391 | $27,836,484 | $29,003,034 | $32,314,396 |
| Juvenile/Probate Court | $5,303,773 | $5,001,009 | $5,557,813 | $5,834,407 | $6,448,092 |
| Prosecutor | $3,116,514 | $3,770,283 | $4,219,973 | $4,323,099 | $4,803,445 |
| Common Pleas Court | $3,015,700 | $3,266,322 | $3,466,538 | $3,523,323 | $4,004,935 |
| Domestic Relations Court | $1,852,032 | $2,290,757 | $2,748,615 | $2,903,993 | $3,163,553 |
| Public Defender | $1,946,651 | $2,237,662 | $2,363,100 | $2,430,231 | $2,574,635 |
| Clerk of Courts | $1,334,096 | $1,362,516 | $1,468,254 | $1,446,602 | $1,701,498 |
| Municipal Court | combined | $591,980 | $591,980 | $591,980 | $611,088 |
| Court of Appeals | combined | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| Board of Elections | $3,353,855 | $3,429,753 | $4,040,082 | $4,593,742 | $4,682,033 |
| Veterans Service | $1,211,800 | $1,502,898 | $1,793,525 | $2,124,216 | $3,250,500 |
| Auditor | $1,794,588 | $1,895,890 | $2,209,732 | $2,261,633 | $2,472,803 |
| Treasurer | $880,000 | $919,537 | $1,052,124 | $1,201,650 | $1,271,864 |
| Coroner | $567,166 | $719,950 | $726,706 | $732,380 | $751,725 |
| Recorder | $687,590 | $714,221 | $529,620 | $573,100 | $615,592 |
What the money buys.
Salaries plus benefits together: $86.2M, 52.8% of the total.
| Expenditure type | 2026 amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Salaries | $61,250,000 | 37.5% |
| Services and charges | $33,390,000 | 20.4% |
| Benefits | $24,980,000 | 15.3% |
| Capital outlay and equipment | $18,540,000 | 11.3% |
| Transfers | $17,990,000 | 11.0% |
| Materials and supplies | $4,900,000 | 3.0% |
| Grants in aid | $2,420,000 | 1.5% |
Sources and notes
2026: adopted Nov 24, 2025 (Resolution 25-1007). County press release.
2025: adopted Nov 25, 2024 (Resolution 24-975). County press release.
Commissioner department detail comes from the appropriation resolutions in the Commissioners' Journal. Expenditure-type figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 by the source. 2022 through 2024 office figures come from the county's earlier budget releases and Delaware Gazette / Columbus Dispatch coverage; all historical figures are adopted budgets, which differ from final amended appropriations and actual spending. Rollback figures from the county's annual rollback releases (2026: $7,069,025). Per-resident math uses the Delaware County Regional Planning Commission's 2026 projection of 250,509 (a local projection, not a Census figure; the Census Bureau's 2024 estimate is 237,966) and describes the budget's size, not what any resident pays.