Coos County commissioner outlines $1 million shortfall, personnel cuts and revenue options

Coos County Commissioner Drew Farmer told the Coos Bay City Council on Tuesday that the county’s 2025 budget arrived with a $1.8 million deficit and has been reduced to about $1 million through efficiency cuts, use of reserve funds and personnel reductions.

Farmer said, “the nutshell of the budget is, it came in with a $1,800,000 deficit.” He described a mix of one-time and structural actions — including six personnel cuts, temporary use of reconciliation funds and revenue from county parks — that narrowed the shortfall but left unfinished choices for the next budget cycle.

The council heard that the county drew about $100,000 from parks operations this cycle because the parks are revenue-generating. Farmer said timber reconciliation funds — money that accumulates when forestry-budgeted work is not spent — had reached roughly $800,000 over time and the county used just under $400,000 from that balance to reduce the gap. “Not a sustainable solution,” he told the council.

Why it matters: Farmer emphasized that further cuts would have hit patrol and jail services,…