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Thurston County commissioners vote to oppose bill provisions that would shift county budget lead to auditor
Summary
At a Jan. 21 agenda-setting session the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners voted to oppose proposed legislation (filed as 5154) that commissioners said would change who leads the county budget process, narrowing commissioners' ability to employ staff for budget preparation.
Thurston County commissioners voted Jan. 21 to oppose proposed legislation known in materials as “5154,” after commissioners and staff raised concerns the bill’s language would shift primary responsibility for preparing a county budget to the county auditor and narrow the commissioners’ ability to employ staff to prepare a competing or parallel budget.
The board acted after a report from County Manager Leonard Hernandez and legal and association contacts raised questions about how the bill would alter long-standing, locally negotiated practices for preparing and presenting the county budget. Chair Ty Mentor said staff had only recently learned the measure was scheduled for a legislative hearing this week and recommended commissioners weigh in quickly.
Commissioners said the bill’s text replaces prior language that allowed…
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