County staff recommend 5% cap for FY27 spending growth to preserve multi-year sustainability

Budget and finance staff told commissioners that constrained state revenue and local projections require continuing restraint for the FY27 budget. Cam Sparks, budget and financial planning manager, presented modeled scenarios: a 4% growth cap in FY27 leading to roughly nine years of sustainability; a 5% cap that yields about eight years; and a 6% scenario that staff said was unsustainable without new revenue.

"We implemented a series of strategies in FY26 to reset the expenditure curve," Sparks said, noting prior caps and about $2.5 million in ongoing savings achieved last year. Staff recommended Option 2 — a 5% limited growth cap — while carving out limited exceptions that the budget officer could approve for safety, maintenance and IT needs.

Robert Tintill, chief financial officer, said the county has improved short-term reserves but lacks the capacity to fund large new capital projects from the general fund. Commissioners debated whether to be conservative (several argued for 4%) or allow targeted flexibility for high workload services such as the district attorney—s office. Several commissioners asked staff to permit special requests during the process and to return with clearer debt-service and lease-revenue timing for county projects.

Sparks said staff will return to the board on Dec. 17 with a recommended baseline for departments so they can begin their FY27 budgeting work. "We're planning on coming back Dec. 17 to get direction from the board on which approach you would like to take within the general fund," Sparks said. The final budget timeline includes a midyear budget committee meeting in January and formal development beginning in February-March.

Next steps: the board will consider the staff scenarios and set a formal growth cap on Dec. 17 so departments can prepare baseline budgets.