Washington County outlines $20.5 million general-fund gap; proposes levy increases, PERS pickup and other steps

Washington County budget staff told the county’s Budget Committee on March 18 that the county faces a roughly $20,500,000 general-fund shortfall and outlined options to close the gap, including a proposed public-safety local option levy, a library levy replacement measure and a plan for the county to pick up employees’ 6% PERS contribution.

The proposal came during an orientation-style update by Tanya Angie, budget officer for Washington County, who told committee members the county must “align the organization with our fiscal resources” and that staff and the Board are pursuing a mix of reductions, investments and revenue changes to achieve a balanced proposed budget. “We are committed to transparency, and that is part of this conversation with you all tonight,” Angie said.

The nut of the problem, Angie and Interim Chief Financial Officer John Steyer told the committee, is that expenditures are projected to grow faster than revenues. County assumptions show expenditures rising about 5.5% while revenues are projected to grow about 4.1% over the five-year forecast, with personnel services projected to rise roughly 6% and health insurance costs budgeted at about 12–12.5% for the coming fiscal year (staff said a 15% calendar-year increase is possible the following year).

Why it matters: Washington County’s property-tax structure is constrained by earlier state ballot measures, and the county retains a relatively small share of each property-tax dollar (16.3¢ of each dollar, staff said). That limits the county’s ability to close gaps through normal property-tax growth; Measure 5 and Measure 50 established permanent rates and caps that continue to shape local revenue capacity. Committee members were shown that public safety and justice services comprise the largest portion of the general fund (about 43.7%).

Intel’s Strategic Investment Program (SIP) payments, a longtime revenue source for the county, are ending. Angie told the committee the county will see a one-time net reduction to the general fund of about $10,600,000 in the first year as SIP payments expire and taxable personal property formerly covered by SIP terms returns to the property-tax system and is distributed across taxing jurisdictions.

Staff outlined several specific items that will appear in the proposed budget and the materials the committee will receive in April:

- A proposed county pickup of the employee 6% PERS contribution (a “PERS pickup”). Staff estimated the PERS pickup will cost the general fund about $1,600,000 and about $4,700,000 across all county funds. Angie said picking up the contribution is intended to improve competitiveness in the labor market and partially address compensation gaps.

- A proposed increase to the countywide public safety local option levy from the current 47¢ per $1,000 of assessed value to 65¢ per $1,000. Angie said the county plans to place a replacement public safety levy on the November 4, 2025, ballot.

- A proposed replacement to the Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) levy. Angie said the current library levy rate is 22¢ per $1,000 and the proposal under discussion would increase that rate by 37¢ per $1,000; staff said the levy supports countywide library operations and a shared digital collection for 13 member library locations.

- Continued investment in enterprise systems and back-office tools. The county is replacing a 23-year-old enterprise resource planning system; staff expect the new ERP (Workday) to go live near the end of calendar year 2025.

Process and schedule: Angie and Steyer described the budget timeline and how the Budget Committee will be involved. Important dates staff gave the committee include a Budget Committee orientation on April 14, the proposed budget release on April 28 (when the committee will receive the full budget book and the budget message), a Budget Committee public hearing and vote on May 20, and the Board of Commissioners’ public hearing and vote on June 17. The county also plans community outreach including a community information session on May 12 and will publish answers to committee and public questions on May 16.

What staff asked of departments: Angie said departments were asked to submit multiple reduction scenarios so leadership could evaluate options without using a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Committee members asked for additional detail on how reductions were chosen and how mandated services were identified; Angie said the county is preparing a service-level assessment, partly funded with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, that will define and describe mandated services and will be shared with the Board and Budget Committee when completed.

Public safety and jail staffing: Angie briefed the committee on ongoing jail staffing and capacity challenges. She said Washington County currently has three jail pods closed because of workforce shortages and emphasized that training to fill a deputy position can take roughly 10 months. Staff said they are continuing jail-planning work and considering investments that link jail and community-corrections capacity.

Committee discussion: Members thanked staff for the overview and asked for more context and data in the budget book (for example, the number of libraries WCCLS supports and historical spend rates after past budget reductions). Several committee members urged staff to provide clear documentation of the methodology used to classify mandated services and to show which departmental cut scenarios were carried forward into the proposed budget.

No formal votes or binding decisions were taken during the meeting; staff presented direction, data and the upcoming timeline and asked the committee to review the proposed budget when released. Angie said staff will provide supplementary materials, answer committee questions during May and make the service-level assessment available when it is ready.

Ending: The committee was encouraged to submit questions in advance of April 28 so staff can aggregate answers for all members. Angie closed by reiterating the county’s objective: to align operations with available resources while preserving mandated services and pursuing a sustainable fiscal path.

Sources: Remarks and materials presented at the Washington County Budget Committee update, March 18, 2025; direct statements from Tanya Angie (Budget Officer) and John Steyer (Interim Chief Financial Officer) during the committee update.