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Supervisors debate county budget approach as rise in mandated costs looms
Summary
At the July Washington County Board meeting supervisors debated the county’s draft 2026 budget, with calls to identify mandated costs, consider department cut requests and ask departments to submit 5% smaller budgets; concerns focused on Department of Social Services spending and the limits of local control over mandates.
Washington County supervisors spent a significant portion of their July meeting debating the county budget, mandating versus discretionary spending, and possible pathways to reduce a projected tax increase.
Several supervisors said a large share of the county budget is driven by mandates that the county cannot easily change. Supervisor Roselle outlined budget pressures, saying the county has limited options to avoid tax increases because many costs are mandated and several large expense categories — including Department of Social Services (DSS)…
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