Washington County Fair Board approves FY25–26 spending plan, discusses lottery funds, biosecurity and master plan costs

The Washington County Fair Board on Feb. 5 approved the financial reports and on a voice vote approved the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 spending plan and the fee schedule after a presentation from staff and brief discussion.

Leah, a county fair staff presenter, told the board the packet contained a balanced spending plan and a budget memo intended to clarify line-item changes and county cost-allocation adjustments. She said the fair’s recurring state lottery payment is $53,166 and noted that transient lodging tax (TLT) money for the fair is distributed by county ordinance, with the fair receiving 35% of the TLT designated for fair/fairgrounds and the remaining 65% going to the fairgrounds account.

The memo and packet also broke out personnel and administrative costs; Leah said personnel costs charged to the fairboard portion total $514,522 for 18 on-site staff, and that county administrative charges (separately listed) are about $127,000. Leah told the board entertainment was budgeted at roughly $500,000 and that overall expenditures reflect about a 10% increase over the prior year, driven in part by rising utility and garbage costs.

Why it matters: the board’s approval sets the financial baseline for vendor contracts, public-safety staffing and fair operations next year and frames the county’s requests to the county commission and to state legislators about fair funding.

Major points from the presentation and discussion

- Transient lodging tax and state lottery funds: Leah explained how the TLT transfer is handled in county accounts (the account numbers changed this year) and that the fair’s longstanding state lottery payment has remained at $53,166 for more than 25 years. She said the Oregon Fairs Association is pursuing legislative changes to remove the current cap on the lottery allocation and that Senator Todd Nash has introduced a bill to that effect. Leah asked board members to be prepared to provide written or in-person testimony if requested.

- Biosecurity and animal-health rules: Leah reported recent contacts with the Oregon State veterinarian and said the state is drafting administrative rules that will make certain biosecurity practices mandatory for county fairs. ‘‘They are in the middle of writing new administrative rules at the state level, to memorialize, some of the changes that they're gonna be making in the livestock program, from a biosecurity standpoint,’’ Leah said. She told the board the county fair’s existing biosecurity program is robust and that state rules were not expected to be finalized until near the end of the legislative session.

- Public-safety contract funding: the budget includes a requested payment of $250,000 to the Washington County Sheriff’s Department for services at the fair; Leah said a small payment to the Hillsborough Police Department (noted as under $1,000) is also included in a parking line item.

- Sponsorship revenue and earned income: Leah and board members discussed weak sponsorship returns this year. Leah said the staff set conservative sponsorship revenue in the proposed budget because corporate sponsorships have not materialized at prior historic levels. ‘‘I’m going to remain skeptical with this year's budget until we start to see some commitments with signed contracts and money coming through the door,’’ Leah said.

- 4-H and FFA participation: Leah reported lower livestock participation from both FFA and 4‑H than expected. She said previous budget assumptions that horse programming or larger livestock entries would return have not been realized, and the board discussed outreach and the pending replacement for the county 4‑H agent (Alan Taggart recently left Oregon State University; a replacement had been interviewed but not yet selected at the time of the meeting).

- Master plan and infrastructure costs: staff said a master-plan presentation will go to the County Commission (date later clarified on the county calendar) and that a recent site proposal includes roughly 86 RV stalls in the current design. Leah reported a soft-plus-hard cost estimate of approximately $10,200,000 to build out the RV/parking/infrastructure components cited in the plan; she noted that wetland mitigation and other off-site work would be additional costs and that the county would need to identify partnerships or funding sources for long-term build-out.

Board action and votes

- Approval of financial reports: the board moved and seconded the motion to approve the financial reports as presented; the motion carried on a voice vote (no roll-call tally given).

- Approval of the FY25–26 proposed budget: following presentation and discussion, a motion to adopt the spending plan as presented was made, seconded and approved on a voice vote. No roll-call vote or individual vote names were recorded in the transcript; the chair noted ‘‘everybody is in favor.’’

- Fee schedule: the board approved the fee schedule as presented without changes; the packet shows the fee schedule is unchanged from the prior year.

Public comment

- Mitch, a former fair board member, addressed the board during the first public comment period. He said he had been notified that he would not be renewed for a second term and described his disappointment while also expressing continued willingness to volunteer at the fair. ‘‘I serve the board in good faith, and I tried to hopefully help bring some positive communication and feedback from the community to the board,’’ Mitch said.

Staff follow-up and next steps

Leah and staff will submit the approved budget packet to county finance per the county calendar and will present portions of the fair master plan to the County Commission in April. Leah asked board members to be ready to provide testimony to the legislature if requested on lottery funding and related bills. Staff also plan to continue monitoring sponsorship commitments and to provide updated budget figures if sponsorships convert to signed revenue.

Ending: The board concluded the item by approving the budget and fee schedule and moving to other agenda items, including officer elections and planning the next meeting.