Umatilla County commissioners adopt $200.7 million budget, set property tax rate at $2.8487 per $1,000

The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday adopted the county's fiscal plan for the coming biennium, approving a $200,713,599 budget and setting the county's permanent property tax rate at $2.8487 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The adopted budget totals $200.7 million and includes appropriations of roughly $192.3 million. Commissioners also approved the compensation committee recommendations but retained a 10% pay separation between the sheriff and the undersheriff rather than a larger increase.

County Administrator Robert (first name used in meeting) reviewed a set of special funds and reserves during the hearing, including stimulus and public-health reserve accounts created during the pandemic and a personnel/PERS reserve that currently holds just over $9 million. Commissioners authorized a planned transfer from that reserve to help cover anticipated personnel and insurance costs next fiscal year.

Commission discussion touched on a small number of directed additions to the proposed appropriation package: a $15,000 program-specific allocation inserted to support a pilot project requested by the district attorney's office, and a cleanup to remove an inadvertent FTE carried in the veterans services budget so that the department's future grant forecasting is not adversely affected.

The board took three recorded actions in the meeting: - Approval of the compensation committee recommendations, with the sheriff/undersheriff pay separation set at 10 percent. The motion passed without recorded opposition. - Adoption of the permanent property tax rate at $2.8487 per $1,000 of assessed value. The board approved the rate as presented. - Adoption of the budget and appropriations, including the two adjustments noted above. The motion carried and the budget was adopted.

Chair Commissioner George (first name only in transcript) and the other commissioners voted in favor of each motion; no negative votes were recorded during the public meeting.

County staff noted the budget remains sensitive to state and federal grant decisions (particularly Medicaid-related funding that affects several county departments) and to volatility in personnel and insurance costs, which is why reserves were maintained.

The board's adoption sets the county tax rate at the long-standing permanent rate and authorizes county departments to begin operating under the adopted appropriation levels for the next biennium.