[{"_1":2,"_123":-5,"_124":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99,111],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6226099,"mediaKeyId","3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f","parentId",3516204,"title","County schedules executive sessions; HR requests to fill purchasing specialist and public health nurse positions","audioSeconds",140,"startMs",4562010,"endMs",4702170,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f&start=4562&end=4702","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f/thumbnail_4562010.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6226099/Cowlitz-County/Washington/County-schedules-executive-sessions-HR-requests-to-fill-purchasing-specialist-and-public-health-nurse-positions","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6226099-a159a45ebd74f962f11322b3f9312572/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191115&Signature=Zk1EbAOo-AuNXISsmqzdyvEnuMZrd7~7UtKp6OYvC6GID~MpKTLWn0VAb0sD1nXspM6yqnnG1ApHa~afKO8ZYED56ca4rqZlp4ujrzitSUIhyzWbj9y5Lf9iYZwVBfHfT-7kWDFzd1DdK1WWVFfyXMVatf4xjbm1PTwV5045YkMYBYJFlXnr5lmXogmctaZL92T0jUKVhNIVm2DvZYlyV~Qgy9X3zfqNW3NqjcoilojxhMhZ-rcu6xdUhMZXg~dZArACTHMkbh4Lg~D3FPU4HCqlsJI5~2fWlY2Na7BlaBc3sP9CLh7--4YtlAoaODE99mgXSrKdAKuUmXaLOdUmTA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Cowlitz County Commissioners, Washington","date","2025-05-27T17:03:58.653Z","article","Human Resources presented two personnel requests and the board convened a series of brief executive sessions during the meeting.

Jessica Warren of Human Resources said Public Works seeks to fill a purchasing specialist position vacated in January after reworking the job description, and the Health Department requested recruitment to replace a public health nurse whose last day will be in May. Warren said the positions are ready for recruitment and that job descriptions were reviewed as part of the fill requests.

Separately, commissioners adjourned into executive session twice. The first executive session was described as relating to safety and security planning and lasted about 10–25 minutes (the board extended it by two brief increments); the second set of executive sessions covered applicant qualifications (5 minutes) and the performance of a public employee (5 minutes). The board stated publicly after returning to open session that no decisions were rendered during those executive sessions.

The personnel fill requests were presented as items for board approval on an upcoming agenda; no formal board votes or appointments were recorded in this meeting’s public session.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Monday Business Meeting - 05.19.2025","oneSentenceSummary","Human Resources asked the board to approve filling a Public Works purchasing specialist vacancy and a Health Department public health nurse vacancy; the board also held multiple short executive sessions on safety, applicant qualifications and employee performance with no decisions rendered.","taxTitle","Cowlitz County, Washington","taxId",5122,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6226103,"Finance director outlines $298,847 general fund adjustment and multiple budget-line changes at May meeting",1378,3074020,4452140,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f&start=3074&end=4452","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f/thumbnail_3074020.jpg","/articles/6226103/Cowlitz-County/Washington/Finance-director-outlines-298847-general-fund-adjustment-and-multiple-budget-line-changes-at-May-meeting","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6226103-eaf8bbcb91367a7fcf78809a7baa5387/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191115&Signature=Uf7Fs0jV0URBdi9j5UAzg2hTgYouISX-lS47Mx3g9-R4wENvp2bUlpIIxzF7U925h7lkv74Cgl3WqZAoNAwqyPOcuh4cALQNQt3MmoSBrN1Sw5wBUjEz-ox7dYwpyhUnobcLCj7E4HQME~XmuZb1vq7wFTE-FZvkQvlJItospoxVMPviIR1j59Y9D7G6V2oBtsLQ30DTzpp3DcCPRu4LWlcDUF-JBzx0q0oI0IGbVvBvIPv7dP5mFXHBOCOYuNGhBIa8SHb4U6bGur0MRFV5E9~wFe8UMYV2-~XWkJYBQEJA3SsLzWSutyo~I677FbWyUSkw5o4sg0-Qwn72Y2YvLQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Finance Director Kathy Funk Baxter presented a budget amendment package the board will consider on May 27 that includes a net $298,847 reduction to the general fund after revenue and expense adjustments and numerous departmental line-item changes.

Major items included in the proposed amendment: a requested increase for sheriff-related jail court security and an alarm system ($42,000 for an additional position plus roughly $13,000 for evidence‑room alarms), $72,005.79 to pay IT for sheriff equipment replacement costs, and coroner requests for about $46,000 for interior and exterior cameras. The museum requested about $22,000 to repair an on‑street sign that has been inoperable for several months.

Funk Baxter said the cafe at the Hall of Justice has incurred startup and equipment expenses and requested additional general fund support; finance staff will present a fuller operations analysis after two months of completed service. The amendment package also includes corrections to purchase order and copier lease entries and the dissolution of an obsolete purchasing fund that held petty cash.

Human Services will reconfigure funds and record about $1.25 million in DSHS CGTA grant revenue and a $147,000 DSHS disability grant alongside corresponding expense line changes. The amendment corrects several internal allocations for chemical dependency and mental health programs and transfers ARPA funds to cover some parks expenses already committed through prior ARPA decisions.

On internal service and enterprise funds, information technology asked to budget $491,510 in rugged laptop replacements (previously held in fund balance) and solid waste maintenance corrected a utilities budget line from $20,000 to $250,000, with fund balance adjustments to match.

Funk Baxter said several items are timing and coding corrections and that some increases are offset by revenue adjustments; commissioners asked clarifying questions about ARPA balances and funding sources. The package will appear on the May 27 consent/regular agenda for formal action.","Kathy Funk Baxter presented a multi-department budget amendment that would reduce the general fund by $298,847 and move money between line items and funds, support added sheriff and coroner needs, cover a museum signage repair, supplement a Hall of Justice cafe start-up, and reflect new grant revenues for human services.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6226108,"Public works to seek award for $2.5M pavement overlay, approve A/E on-call increase and other construction agenda items",274,2555760,2830050,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f&start=2555&end=2830","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f/thumbnail_2555760.jpg","/articles/6226108/Cowlitz-County/Washington/Public-works-to-seek-award-for-25M-pavement-overlay-approve-AE-on-call-increase-and-other-construction-agenda-items","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6226108-cd8633a6f01b0ac123357044935de908/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191115&Signature=HwyHvlGv5Dcf-lwy-GPK9Fkepfjm5afkiNKSfbvygGRtVflPhUc9u36lRERnJQVIIYj8mpjEVPLJ1umGye~oTOYUKsd-vZ6pYvBNTKkbOR2SvMbFFf-srETjFkgWQGMdweIdTgARExJHxNzOWdlGOhwpjbHCBHpETheKNunkru-S9Ak3EJbh0cgLp1wHJ0XMv4C~7Q53uGAqDlmYgYoKs8-lRZgV8tPU6d5cFEbWmN5Me-9jo4wowjIG3ezBHgwwwb5Gmt0eXMCtkCU6ode5RPl4Wy7-Tq9N-cayWrPzLKZHH7jLu7eMpA7hwavnFULcXhALF4X~38RauWfLyMeKQw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Cowlitz County public works staff told the Board of Commissioners they expect to place multiple construction and procurement items on the May 27 agenda, including a recommendation to award the countywide pavement overlay contract to the low bidder, Lakeside.

County Engineer Susan Genes said Lakeside submitted a low bid of $2,516,744, roughly $163,000 under the engineer’s estimate, and that three bidders responded to the solicitation. She said the county is also working with the state on a South Cloverdale federally funded project that requires state approval before award and that the South Cloverdale item may be added to the agenda if the state clears it in time.

Public works project manager Sean Roey reported a contract completion item for the Riverside Park overlay (basketball court and tennis courts) with final costs of about $72,000 and presented an admin building roof award with seven bidders, where the apparent low bidder was Weather Guard at $423,007.52.

Savannah Clement, public works, asked the board to extend the county’s A/E on-call contract with AETA by one year and increase the not-to-exceed amount by $200,000 (bringing the total to about $300,000) to cover outstanding proposals including a Hall of Justice feasibility study, annex completion, parks renderings and anticipated juvenile roof and jail lobby proposals that were not yet received.

Roey also asked to move an $800 petty-cash checking account from an internal purchasing service fund into the general fund so the county retains access while dissolving the old purchasing fund, and he said the diesel purchase agreement (piggybacked to a Port of Longview award) would continue through Feb. 25, 2027, with no delivery charge.

Public works staff indicated which items they expect to bring forward as motion items (roof, diesel) and which will likely be consent items (petty cash, contract completion). The board did not take formal award votes at the meeting; staff said they will add the items to the upcoming agenda for approval.","Public works staff recommended awarding a $2,516,744 countywide pavement overlay contract to the low bidder, reported a $423,007 admin roof low bid and asked to extend and increase the county's on-call architecture/engineering contract by $200,000 for one year; several items will be placed on the May 27 agenda.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6226113,"Board to consider contract adjustments for homeless services, developmental disabilities and CJTA treatment funding",265,2103210,2368410,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f&start=2103&end=2368","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f/thumbnail_2103210.jpg","/articles/6226113/Cowlitz-County/Washington/Board-to-consider-contract-adjustments-for-homeless-services-developmental-disabilities-and-CJTA-treatment-funding","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6226113-de31655ada734524179d7e4a5db48a98/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191116&Signature=EByATH3ie8j66M3vq4OEcpSRjYjuyu~VKcMnrn70fSHD67wyFemJcp7yVNY63X4la7bUElcnjm0XIdAHRx8w7gd9L8K18PZ7wUyVv3S1Pgzg~neGgOnhUrB01zdcDrxCm6lu~R7a0i3n8lBPK~Pt3w-7-eXPLDJL86jTwnqhmjXSKl1iG4YiT65wVMJZHa8kSeKnRGiVGLwvHaKJ9p6JbToW8Q~GB0F6dLf-7ydoJvRiwe8Z4~iqo32VrFv0bickjRqgf1xVqS7i6gH16ds3ufjxp7JKxB1ktsKnmZ7OrVnSf4jxz31Mee0UxxmDo8vpaIFXSKM2AsSCDwRiE1XqTw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","County staff told the Board of Commissioners they will place several existing-contract amendments on the May 27 agenda to close out the fiscal year and reallocate existing contract dollars.

A staff presenter said the Washington State Department of Commerce has asked the county to return $140,000 from the county’s Consolidated Homeless Grant because staff anticipate that portion will go unspent; the original contract was “a little over $8,000,000,” the presenter said.

Staff also reported two amendment requests for developmental disability services with current providers Goodwill and Compass Career Solutions. Those amendments would reallocate funds already in the county’s state award to cover increased service hours, additional clients and related services through the end of the fiscal year; staff said the changes do not require additional state funding beyond the existing contract allocation.

Separately, staff said the county will amend its contract with Cowlitz Family Health Center to add funds under the Criminal Justice Treatment Account (CJTA) to cover inpatient substance use disorder services used primarily by therapeutic court participants. The presenter said this funding also comes from existing unallocated contract dollars rather than new state dollars.

Finance Director Kathy Funk Baxter said a June 4 work session is scheduled to review how next year’s state contracts may look and to provide broader context for fiscal-year 2026 contracting.

No formal action on these amendments was taken during the meeting; staff said the items will be on the agenda for formal consideration on May 27.","Staff told commissioners they will place several contract amendments on the May 27 agenda, including a $140,000 reduction in the Consolidated Homeless Grant, added funding to developmental disability providers, and a budget increase for Cowlitz Family Health Center under Criminal Justice Treatment Account funding.",{"_33":112,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":113,"_41":114,"_43":115,"_45":116,"_47":117,"_49":118,"_51":119,"_53":120,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":121,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":122,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6226119,"Cowlitz County finance staff flag overtime, vacancies in juvenile detention budget; 3-month follow-up ordered",1900,48200,1948610,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f&start=48&end=1948","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3516204-51e0d16e1bea43108fb504b6ae73fa6f/thumbnail_48200.jpg","/articles/6226119/Cowlitz-County/Washington/Cowlitz-County-finance-staff-flag-overtime-vacancies-in-juvenile-detention-budget-3-month-follow-up-ordered","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6226119-c147ef1a914bc8a75e36bc5d903ba036/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191116&Signature=BlePEOQ6nzbrGMohtDbJS-IIk4EzwXH-urSeE47BBcAYbVfWcPCf~XJK6QyLXHvZ6vrh3XyTWgnHFGfOT~ayNPX5ZJXQLvOMkn7F5cc~v2w1RTaS14hZ4X9iOBhv6z5aPvoZIq7kfzHUiQUH-HFYHWO32YqD7egJP4oH7I1BSTtWRbOaWdmwCfO4A~9sR9jpIReMCAQ-lTeiv9dkf4w6dMKGFuOGBU3AnQH6C6uJ-fyc7~iT1lDnUvkJDcniPq92CohFqSGa04EIgeEM2wLqxhPEQdum1ue1Lz8P8yOPE2hGXT4gyXHC0hu4yPqALe1bMvtDKKy58x~QR48bIOBefA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Cowlitz County finance staff on Monday told the Board of Commissioners that juvenile detention is drawing significant overtime and that coding and staffing issues are contributing to higher-than-expected costs.

Finance Director Kathy Funk Baxter said juvenile detention is supported primarily by the general fund and that the department’s overtime for the first four months of this year is $129,006.47, compared with $103,231 for the same period last year. “We typically amend revenue budgets in the third quarter,” she said, adding staff plan to amend juvenile revenue lines at that time.

Mike Schultz, juvenile detention manager, said much of the overtime ties to vacant lead positions and to training. “All of our about half of my part time staff work for other parts of the county, so almost all of their pay comes out of my overtime budget,” Schultz said. He said the facility began the year with five open positions and that promotions and backfills delayed the expected reduction in overtime until April–May, when new hires finished training.

The finance presentation showed the detention personnel budget at $2,810,965 with actual payroll through April of $854,004.68. County staff reported 3.75 open positions in the detention staffing roster and noted some time cards appear to be miscoded; the finance team recommended targeted time-sheet training and further review.

Schultz described operational reasons for overtime spikes, including simultaneous training periods and an event that required opening a third housing pod for safety and separation of co-defendant juveniles. He said the facility’s bed capacity is roughly in the 70-bed range but that normal staffing is set to cover two pods — about 32–36 youths when pods are full — and that staffing needs do not scale down if population is low: “Because whether we have 2 kids or whether we have 36 kids, we still have to staff that the same.”

Schultz also described the in‑house training load for new hires (about 200 hours) and said some overtime coding for training has been applied to the overtime line rather than training budgets, which inflated the overtime account. Finance staff said they found sample time cards with irregularities that could mean both underpayments and overpayments and recommended a focused payroll coding review.

Commissioners and staff agreed to return with updated financials in three months to monitor trends. Funk Baxter said she would schedule a three-month review of juvenile detention and probation financials.

The finance briefing also reviewed juvenile probation revenue, noting intergovernmental (state BECCA-related) and behavioral health tax transfers as primary revenue sources and personnel budgets for probation at about $1,637,000 with current payrolls running below the seasonal target. No formal votes were taken during the financial review.","Finance staff told commissioners juvenile detention’s overtime is above last year’s four-month level and that coding and time-sheet issues, vacancies and training-related overtime are driving costs; county will run a three-month review and provide time-sheet training.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

County schedules executive sessions; HR requests to fill purchasing specialist and public health nurse positions

Finance director outlines $298,847 general fund adjustment and multiple budget-line changes at May meeting

Public works to seek award for $2.5M pavement overlay, approve A/E on-call increase and other construction agenda items

Board to consider contract adjustments for homeless services, developmental disabilities and CJTA treatment funding

Cowlitz County finance staff flag overtime, vacancies in juvenile detention budget; 3-month follow-up ordered