Deschutes County retreat sets limited-growth framework for FY26 as departments outline cuts

Deschutes County commissioners and staff spent much of their Jan. 27 annual retreat outlining a proposed budget approach for fiscal year 2026 that asks departments to limit spending growth and identify savings to close a forecasted shortfall.

County Financial Officer Robert Tintall opened the budget portion with a summary of the process so far: "we started having meetings in July August about as soon as we adopted last year's budget, we knew we had to look at the fiscal year 26 budget." He and Budget Manager Cam Sparks presented a framework that would hold general fund expenditure growth to 3.3% and internal service fund growth to 8% while reallocating roughly $1 million in previously approved non-departmental general-fund items.

The nut graf: County staff say the limited-growth approach would save about $1.5 million annually and is designed to reset the county's expenditure trajectory so recurring expenses align with recurring revenues. Cam Sparks told commissioners, "this framework does save the general fund $1,500,000 annually. And these savings are really imperative in order to maintain or achieve financial sustainability within the general fund." The plan asks most departments to find savings through vacancy management, trimming materials and services, and other operational adjustments.

Departments presented preliminary strategies. Public health managers said they had already closed a reproductive-health clinic and planned targeted FTE reductions and fee changes; community justice proposed holding several positions vacant and reducing M&S; the district attorney's office warned staffing reductions would strain capacity to handle serious criminal cases. Campbell and others emphasized that many savings are still estimates and that detailed decisions will be refined during the February–March budget development cycle.

Commissioners pressed staff about trade-offs and timing. Administration staff said the proposed limits are intended to be a multi-year approach: repeated annual reviews will be needed if revenue growth remains constrained. Robert Tintall reminded the board of the county's financial policy against using one-time revenues for ongoing operations, noting: "1 time revenue should not support ongoing personnel and operating costs." Several commissioners said they want a conservative baseline this year and to use the limited-growth framework to avoid recurring mismatches between revenue and obligations.

The budget discussion was not a vote but a direction to staff: commissioners asked departments to return with concrete plans showing how they will meet targets and to flag services that would be materially affected. Sparks told the board that "the goal of today is we're requesting feedback from the board to help inform the development of the fiscal year 26 budget." Staff said a proposed budget will be ready for the formal budget committee process in the months ahead, with department-level presentations built into the committee schedule.

Ending: County leaders described the limited-growth approach as a pragmatic response to uncertainty on revenues and rising costs. Commissioners and department heads agreed to continue refining proposals in February and March and to bring specific trade-offs back to the budget committee for public review.