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Washington County plans community budget sessions as staff readies proposed FY26 package
Summary
County staff proposed a series of public briefing and outreach dates to help cities and residents understand the proposed FY26 budget and background fiscal issues. Commissioners discussed timing, scope and moderator roles for events.
Washington County commissioners reviewed staff proposals on Jan. 16 to hold a sequence of community briefings and town-hall style sessions to explain the county’s proposed FY26 budget and the fiscal context that underlies it.
The county’s communications office presented a suggested schedule that included three candidate dates for a city/elected-official update (March 19, April 4 and April 7), a proposed community-facing budget presentation on May 12 and the county’s budget committee hearings and Q&A in mid-May. Staff told commissioners the proposed budget materials would be posted online before the May community session.
Why it matters: County staff emphasized the sessions are intended to raise public understanding of the budget choices and constraints facing the county, not to substitute for formal testimony during the budget committee hearings. Commissioners asked staff to make the community sessions clear about the scope of questions that could be answered that night and to direct technical or line-item questions to the budget committee process.
What staff proposed - Elected-official update: Three possible dates for a board-hosted briefing to inform city council members and other local electeds (March 19, April 4, April 7). Staff said the Monday date (April 7) may conflict with some council meeting nights but could still work as an evening event. - Community budget session: May 12 was proposed as a public-facing presentation of the county administrator’s budget message and background context (fiscal trends, prior years’ adjustments) before the formal budget committee decision process begins. - Budget committee timeline: Staff noted the county’s budget committee presentations would occur in mid-May (the packet discussed May 14–15 and May 20 dates for committee meetings and Q&A) with final adoption targeted for mid-June.
Commissioners’ guidance and logistics Commissioners requested that staff prepare a clear meeting announcement describing the session’s scope, noting what questions could and could not be resolved in that forum, and explaining where and when residents could submit detailed budget testimony (budget committee hearings and written submission portals). Several commissioners asked that the sessions be hybrid (in person with a virtual component) and that county staff or a moderator redirect technical questions to the formal committee process.
Staff follow-up Communications staff said they will: (1) confirm the single date for the elected-official briefing and circulate a Doodle poll if needed; (2) prepare moderator guidance and event-language that clarifies the community session’s purpose; and (3) post proposed budget materials on the county website ahead of the May 12 session so attendees can review the administrator’s message in advance.
Ending Commissioners approved moving forward with planning for the dates discussed and asked staff to return with finalized logistics, outreach language and materials to ensure the public sessions set clear expectations.
