Curry County presents $64.3 million proposed budget, adds four positions; adoption deferred

Curry County commissioners on Thursday reviewed a proposed $64,276,759 budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year that would add four county positions, rely in part on federal O&C timber receipts and transient lodging tax revenue, and postpone formal adoption to allow commissioners time to review the books.

Budget officer Director Fitzgerald presented the fiscal 2025–26 budget message, saying the plan was prepared with assistance from a certified public accountant and county leadership and that “revisions are expected in the coming months to ensure accuracy in projected revenues and expenditures.” The proposal covers the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026, and is $239,023 less than the prior year’s budget, Fitzgerald said.

The proposal lays out multiple fund types, including a general fund for essential services, a road fund for operations and maintenance, special revenue funds for the sheriff’s office and transient lodging tax (TLT) revenues, a towers fund for communications infrastructure, and federal and state grant funds. Director Fitzgerald told commissioners the total budget not including road fund reserves is $26,732,761 and that county revenues will come from federal and state funding, property taxes, fees and grants.

Why it matters: the plan would restore some public-safety staffing and relies on revenues that are variable or legally restricted. County leaders said they sought one-time and ongoing sources and reduced reliance on the general fund but cautioned that some revenue streams can change with federal or state policy.

Key budget figures and revenue sources - Total proposed budget: $64,276,759 (all revenues and expenditures across funds). - Permanent tax rate: 0.5996 per $1,000 of assessed value; county collects about $0.07 of every property-tax dollar paid, Fitzgerald said. - Estimated county property-tax revenue: $2,008,500 (reported as the estimated tax revenue for fiscal 2025–26). - O&C (Oregon & California) timber receipts: reported at $944,000 for the year; county leaders said O&C funds allowed coverage of annual staffing increases. - Transient Lodging Tax (TLT): the board approved a rise from 7% to 10% earlier in 2025; the increase is estimated to raise about $700,000 for the general fund and additional funds restricted for tourism and promotion. - General fund contingency in the proposed budget: reported as $987,000.

Personnel and positions The budget proposal assumes a general personnel-cost increase (a planning figure noted as 7.5% over last year for most departments) and would create four positions without added general-fund cost: an investigator in the district attorney’s office, a community resource officer (CRO), an animal-control/civil deputy in the sheriff’s office and one additional planning position. The county reports total positions (filled and vacant) at 112 FTE-equivalents this year versus 108 last year.

Commissioners and staff emphasized that added positions were intended to be funded with sustainable dollars. The proposal notes the county will use interest on road fund reserves rather than principal to help sustain patrol funding moving forward.

Public safety, road fund use and community concern Several speakers addressed the sheriff’s office staffing and the relationship between the Board of Commissioners and the sheriff’s administration. Dave (identified in the record as a volunteer firefighter in Langley) raised concerns about response coverage and the broader relationship, saying the public and emergency services want to “understand more fully” why patrol coverage has changed.

A county official responding in the meeting said the issue is complex and urged separating financial choices from relationship questions, noting the county has spent down road fund reserves in prior years and that some past expenditures were treated as loans that were not repaid. The record shows the county previously spent road fund reserves on patrol and road operations; current strategy focuses on using interest rather than principal to sustain patrol funding.

Budget process and next steps Commissioners postponed final action to allow more time to review the binder materials. The board agreed to reconvene on Monday (special meeting) to continue review and scheduled a tentative backup meeting for Tuesday morning if more time is needed. Staff said supplemental budgets can be used later to fine-tune revenue and expenditure estimates.

What was not decided No formal vote to adopt the budget occurred during the meeting. Several figures were presented as estimates and described as subject to revision; the county said it would refine projected revenues and expenditures in the coming months.

Ending note County officials said they are pursuing a longer-term investment strategy intended to increase returns on county cash and reduce reliance on volatile or one-time revenues. Commissioners asked staff to continue preparing materials and to set a Monday meeting for possible adoption after members have had more time to review the documents.