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County finance director says reserves remain above policy but projects a multiyear decline; calls for department budget review
Summary
Cowlitz County presented a monthly finance report showing preliminary 2024 results, an estimated 2025 year‑end fund balance decline, solid‑waste transfers driving early deficits, and a call for departments to prepare budget‑reduction scenarios ahead of the 2026–27 budget process.
County finance staff presented the monthly finance report and a multi‑year outlook, telling commissioners that preliminary 2024 actuals suggest the county will end 2024 with an estimated general‑fund balance of about $19.1 million and forecasting a 2025 year‑end balance near $13.9 million under conservative assumptions.
Presenters explained that early‑year deficits in reporting are driven in part by timing: property‑tax receipts and several large transfers are concentrated in April, and internal service charges and post‑closure solid‑waste transfers were recorded early in the year. Solid waste activity showed about $3.8 million in receipts through March and roughly $16 million in expenses through the same period; the difference was attributable largely to…
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