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Cowlitz County finance director warns fund balance may shrink; asks departments to identify cuts ahead of 2026 budget
Summary
County Finance Director presented preliminary 2024 results and a forecast for 2025 that show a declining general fund balance and urged departments to prepare budget reduction scenarios ahead of the 2026 cycle.
Kathy, the county finance director, told the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday that preliminary year-end figures show the county will end 2024 with an estimated general fund balance of about $19.1 million and that current forecasts point to a year-end 2025 balance near $13.9 million.
Kathy said the preliminary accounting indicates 2024 revenues of roughly $60 million and expenditures of about $63.8 million, producing an estimated draw on reserves of approximately $3.5 million. For 2025 she said she is projecting a smaller draw than is currently budgeted — about $5.0 million instead of the $15.7 million shown in the revised 2025 budget — primarily because departments historically underspend…
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