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Clallam County approves debatable emergencies, budget revisions and supplemental appropriations
Summary
The Board approved two debatable emergency budget items (a $70,000 coroner request and $201,014 in hotel/motel tax spending), several mid‑year budget revisions and five supplemental appropriations after a public hearing and debate about spending priorities.
Clallam County commissioners on May 27 approved multiple budget actions including two debatable emergencies, three budget revisions and five supplemental appropriations following staff briefings and a public hearing.
The two debatable emergencies approved were a $70,000 increase for coroner services, funded with $20,000 expected state reimbursement and $50,000 from general reserves; and a $201,014 increase in the non‑departmental hotel/motel tax fund to cover additional lodging‑tax awards previously approved by resolution. A public hearing was held; no speakers asked to testify on the coroner line, and members of the public debated the hotel/motel allocations and county priorities before the board recorded the emergency allocations.
Other budget revisions the board approved included: - $45,000 reallocation in the Sheriff’s operations (Stone Garden) fund from a planned drone purchase into overtime to cover patrols supporting border security and drug‑interdiction operations. - A $311,505 reduction in the Lower Dungeness floodplain project’s professional services budget and transfer of those funds back to the general fund reserves now that the project is complete and remaining grant balances are being reconciled. - Approximately $13,400 reallocation within Health and Human Services to meet higher‑than‑expected operational needs at the county’s harm reduction center.
Five supplemental appropriations were also approved. Among them: $16,000 for superior court family‑therapeutic support, $311,505 returned to the general fund reserves (the counterpart to the Lower Dungeness transfer), $15,672 for on‑site septic incentives in environmental health, and $50,000 for foundational public‑health safety improvements (paving a Forks health department lot to improve safety and ADA access) plus an additional $50,000 for related HHS operations capital needs.
Public comment and debate: Several speakers used the public comment period to question specific voucher expenditures and HHS harm‑reduction purchases that feed into weekly voucher approvals. Ed Zelenix of Sequim questioned purchases tied to the county’s HOPS program and vouchers, saying, "My point in bringing this up is that I've watched this happen for years," and listed sample expenditures he found in vouchers. Other speakers criticized use of county funds at a local casino for a sheriff’s awards dinner and questioned whether lodging‑tax funding for festivals and visitor‑promotion should be prioritized over other needs. County staff and commissioners explained that lodging‑tax awards are limited to tourism‑related uses and that the lodging‑tax committee vets applications before recommending allocations to the board.
Action and votes: The board approved the debatable emergencies, the listed budget revisions and the supplemental appropriations; staff recorded the actions as approved by voice vote during the meeting.
