Ray County commissioners approved the 2026 county budget despite objections from Prosecuting Attorney Camille Johnston, who argued the numbers used for her office did not reflect actual payroll obligations or the staffing needed to do the work. The disagreement unfolded over two recent commission meetings as Johnston questioned several figures used in the proposed budget for the prosecuting attorney’s office. Among the concerns she raised were a missing technology expense, the calculation of her statutory salary adjustment and how a 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for county employees should be applied to her office’s payroll. Commissioners ultimately moved forward with their own adjustments to those figures before approving the overall county budget. Johnston’s first concern involved a technology expense for Huntress security software, which she said had not been included in the line item after commissioners reduced portions of her office’s budget. She also noted the line item…