Lane County budget committee hears proposed 2025–26 budget that trims staff, earmarks $2M for housing and opioid funds for stabilization center

Lane County Budget Committee members on Tuesday, May 6 heard a budget message from Administrator Mokrohisky outlining a proposed 2025–26 budget that reduces staffing and central‑service spending while using one‑time revenues for two targeted initiatives.

Mokrohisky said the proposed budget reduces about 80 full‑time equivalent (FTE) positions between the current year and the next, identifies approximately $3 million in permanent general‑fund expense reductions and relies on a mix of fee adjustments, vacancy assumptions and one‑time reserves to reach structural balance for the general fund.

Why this matters: Lane County faces a structural revenue shortfall, Mokrohisky said, driven in part by a permanently low county property‑tax rate and the long decline in timber‑related revenue. The algorithm of modest property‑tax growth versus faster growth in wages and benefit costs means the county must reduce or reallocate services to balance future budgets.

Most important facts first: The proposal aims to limit layoffs by targeting vacant positions and shifting extra‑help and material‑and‑service budgets, but officials said those choices will still have service impacts. The budget relies on the following notable items:

- Staffing and cuts: The proposed budget shows a net decrease of 80 positions year‑over‑year; the general fund portion shows a planned reduction of 14.5 FTE and broader countywide FTE of about 2,009 in the proposed budget document. Mokrohisky said most position reductions are vacant or can be mitigated by internal hiring moves.

- Permanent savings:…