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County staff outline $6M '27 shortfall; council keeps furloughs on the table and asks departments to revisit cuts
Summary
Finance staff told the council that current projections put a multi‑million dollar shortfall into the 2027 current‑expense budget. Council asked departments who had not submitted full ~9.5% savings to revisit their budgets, left furloughs as an option, and asked for detailed staffing and classification information to inform further decisions.
San Juan County staff briefed council Oct. 21 on a projected current‑expense shortfall in the 2027 budget that could reach roughly $6 million if no additional revenue or expense reductions are identified. Finance Director Molly Foote and county auditors described year‑to‑date cash consumption and the gap remaining after departments submitted early cost‑saving proposals.
Departments had been asked to identify roughly 9–10% savings; the budget team aggregated submissions and staff adjustments and reported about 4% in discovered savings so far. The county manager and auditor told council that additional direction was needed. The options discussed included additional departmental reductions (including filled or unfilled positions), county‑wide furloughs (with modeled savings per furlough day), and prioritization of decision packages.
Council provided several points of direction: (1) ask departments that have not produced the requested level of savings to revisit their budgets and identify further reductions, including filled or unfilled positions if necessary; (2) keep furloughs on the table as a tool but not yet adopt a county‑wide plan; and (3) require HR to provide a prioritized list of exempt staff who cannot realistically partake in a 32‑hour work week so council can evaluate equity and classification issues. Several councilors emphasized they prefer business‑model changes and targeted cuts to across‑the‑board furloughs and asked staff to return with more detailed scenario modeling before making final choices.
