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Cowlitz County officials review commissioners’ office and related budget lines; state law still requires newspaper notices
Summary
Clerk Kelly Grayson presented proposed 2026–27 budgets for the commissioners’ office and several small departments, outlining line-item reductions and increases and noting state law (RCW) still requires legal notices be published in the local newspaper (TDN).
Kelly Grayson, clerk of the board, presented the Cowlitz County commissioners’ office budget and related department lines at a Tuesday afternoon budget review, saying staff identified cuts and modest increases while preparing figures for the county’s 2026–27 budget cycle.
Grayson said the office reduced several travel and training lines — lowering meals and lodging to $10,000, cutting airfare from $9,000 to $5,000 and cutting tuition and registration to $3,000 — and trimmed the mileage reimbursement line to $1,000. She also noted some increases: phone service rose after the public records centralization added a fifth county phone, and dues and subscriptions were raised to cover online services such as DocuSign, Zoom and Canva.
The discussion touched on where legally required notices must be published. A commissioner asked whether the county could stop using the TDN for public notices. Grayson replied, “At this time, the county or the legislation from the state, we have to use… our local newspaper,” and explained advocates are seeking changes to allow digital alternatives but the requirement remains under state law (RCW).
The presentation also covered small departmental budgets overseen by the commissioners’ office. Public Records staff saw reductions across postage and some travel lines; Grayson said the public records budget fell about 48% in percentage terms because the starting budget was small. The Board of Equalization budget, which the commissioners’ office took over a few years ago, showed a much larger reduction — she said about 73% — largely because earlier practice billed building and planning time as contract services and the office has moved that cost onto an administrative salary allocation.
Grayson addressed an employee-recognition fund currently held in the auditor’s office, saying a pending policy change would move that fund to the commissioners’ office if approved; she reported the auditor’s fund balance at roughly $18,000 and said the commissioners’ recognition fund would be adjusted accordingly once the policy is finalized. She also noted the office removed a small “candy fund” from its operating budget and will accept donations for that purpose.
Why it matters: the presentation sets the baseline for detailed budget discussions and for department-level priorities the board will consider ahead of adoption. The legal requirement to publish some notices in a designated local paper affects how the county can distribute public information and shapes the communications budget.
Ending: Grayson closed by inviting questions from commissioners; the board moved on to the coroner’s budget after the discussion.
