Deschutes County proposes fiscally restrained FY2026 budget, limited-growth plan aims to restore structural balance

County Administrator Nick Lelak on Monday presented a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget that the county says is balanced this year and designed to restore long-term structural balance by limiting expenditure growth and drawing on one-time resources for targeted priorities.

Lelak told the Deschutes County Budget Committee the proposed all-funds budget is $766,400,000 and that the county’s operating budget — the best reflection of ongoing spending — is $430,300,000, about $2.2 million (0.5 percent) lower than the revised FY2025 operating budget. He said the administration eliminated $2.5 million in ongoing general-fund spending and roughly $800,000 in internal service fund (ISF) costs as part of a new “limited growth” strategy that reduces baseline growth targets for departments and ISFs.

Why it matters: County financial staff say the general fund faced a looming structural imbalance driven by revenue slowing while personnel and other costs rose. The limited-growth approach is intended to slow general-fund expenditure growth so recurring revenues can more reliably cover recurring costs in future years.

Lelak summarized the proposal as “a balanced budget for fiscal year 2026 that continues to fund high-quality, efficient services for our growing and changing community in a fiscally…