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Deschutes County staff propose 5% limited growth baseline for FY27 budget
Summary
County finance staff presented FY27 budget options and recommended limiting General Fund growth to 5% (option that preserves multiyear sustainability). Staff noted prior cost‑savings in FY26 and included placeholders for pay‑equity work; commissioners signaled differing comfort levels and asked to revisit special requests and debt service details on Dec. 17.
County budget staff outlined preliminary FY27 budget development guidance and presented three limited‑growth scenarios for General Fund spending.
Cam Sparks, budget and financial planning manager, said the county’s FY26 actions capped general fund expenditure growth at 3.3% and internal service fund (ISF) charges at 8%, and identified approximately $1.0 million in ongoing reassignments, yielding roughly $2.5 million in ongoing savings.
Staff modeled three scenarios for FY27: (1) a 4% cap in FY27 then 5% beyond (9 years of sustainability in the model); (2) a 5% cap in FY27 and beyond (8 years sustainability — finance staff recommendation); and (3) 6% in FY27 then a return to 5% beyond (6 years sustainability). Staff said placeholders in the base included $600,000 one‑time for pay equity and $1.2 million ongoing for pay‑equity and market adjustments.
Robert Tintill, CFO, and other staff answered questions about debt service timing for the new building and said state lease renewals and lease revenue are included in the model. Commissioners debated whether to favor a more conservative 4% baseline — several cited pressure on public‑safety and prosecution workloads and fiscal uncertainty from the state. Staff will return Dec. 17 with additional details, including a proposal on whether departments may submit special funding requests and exact lease escalation figures.
What’s next: Staff will come back to the board Dec. 17 to request direction on the limited‑growth percentage and to provide baseline budgets for departments, then present those to the budget committee in January.
