Cowlitz County commissioners direct staff to use one‑time reductions, certify levies using new‑construction only

Kathy, a county budget staff member, told the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners at an afternoon workshop that the county’s revised 2025 general‑fund budget projects roughly $63 million in revenues and about $77 million in expenses when ordinary commitments and currently budgeted positions are included, leaving the county to draw on fund balance to meet obligations.

The shortfall Kathy laid out reflects a combination of steady revenue (property, sales and timber taxes) and rising personnel and services costs. “Because our revenues are less than our expenses…we’re budgeting to bring that fund balance down,” she said, noting staff projects drawing down reserves by several million dollars without corrective action.

Why it matters: County staff and commissioners said the gap is large enough that short‑term, one‑time measures are needed to protect the county’s reserve policy while they develop longer‑term structural solutions for 2027. Commissioners repeatedly emphasized they prefer to exhaust internal efficiencies and reductions before pursuing new recurring taxes.

What staff proposed

Kathy presented a set of near‑term, largely one‑time measures to close the 2026 gap and rebuild a one‑month operating reserve required by county policy. Suggestions included: drawing down portions of internal reserves (for example, IT reserves), moving two sheriff mental‑health positions and their associated internal service charges from the general fund to the opioid fund, returning previously over‑collected internal service billings to departments where appropriate, delaying some equipment refreshes…