Gilliam County residents press court on childcare funding; debate whether to keep endowment local or place with outside manager

Gilliam County residents and county officials discussed long‑term funding for child care at length during a January 2025 town hall, centering on whether the county should place a proposed child‑care endowment under outside management or keep funds under county control.

The discussion follows a 2023 change that redirected a portion of Waste Management tipping fees into a child‑care sustainability line in the county’s Economic Enhancement fund. County staff reported that the diversion amounts to roughly $1 million a year and that the Economic Enhancement Ordinance already contains distributions for housing, roads and other uses.

County officials and residents said the endowment would allow the interest to support child‑care providers over time while preserving principal. “Once the money goes into the endowment … the interest on that fund is what will fund the daycares going forward,” a county official said during the meeting. Commissioner Watkins requested that the Oregon Community Foundation (or a similar outside manager) appear at the next county court meeting to explain how an external endowment would work and what protections it would provide.

Supporters of an outside manager argued the arrangement would protect the principal from future changes in county priorities. A town hall participant said an outside endowment would allow additional fundraising and donations to be pooled and managed together, similar to existing local scholarship endowments, which could grow the fund beyond the county contributions alone.

Other speakers cautioned that moving money out of the county’s direct control could reduce the pool of dollars available for immediate needs. County staff noted that some funds within the Economic Enhancement Ordinance already function as sustainability reserves and that the ordinance includes a homestead rebate and other designated line items. One county official said the central question is whether to keep the child‑care sustainability money inside Gilliam County’s existing structure or to place it under an outside entity for long‑term stewardship.

Several residents and providers described immediate operational pressures at licensed child‑care centers, including recruiting and retaining qualified staff, low local wages, and uncertainty about state and federal funding streams. Attendees said licensed centers require time to become eligible for additional grants and that trust must be rebuilt in centers that have changed leadership or licensing status.

Participants suggested actions the county could take while the endowment decision is pending, such as running a countywide survey to document child‑care demand by age and shift (after‑school, night shifts, summer), piloting rebates for families who use certified child care, and coordinating outreach to help centers apply for outside grants. Several speakers asked the county to provide clear, regular updates to build public confidence in any chosen path.

County staff said they will place the endowment discussion and a presentation from an outside foundation on the next county court agenda and that the Economic Enhancement Ordinance will be unpacked in a future meeting so the public can see current distributions and balances.

Residents and officials said the conversation is urgent because providers face immediate funding and staffing challenges even as the county attempts to build a durable funding stream for the future.