Crook County budget committee lays out FY2027 assumptions, presses for predictability on insurance and pensions
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Summary
At a Jan. 15 budget committee update, staff presented FY2027 assumptions including a 4% property-tax growth baseline, 2.9% inflation and a 12.1% health-insurance rate for FY27 with plans to cap future increases at 10%; county staff also flagged an unfunded PERS liability of about $8 million and added asset management to board priorities.
Speaker 3, the meeting presenter, opened the Jan. 15 Crook County budget committee session as an FY2027 budget planning update and invited committee members to participate in an open conversation.
Budget staff framed the discussion around six board goals carried over or refined from last year—continuing high-quality core services, financial sustainability, a collaborative internal culture, improved quality of life and safety, clearer communications, and a new emphasis on organizationwide facilities and asset management. Speaker 3 said adding asset management to Goal 6 reflects recurring department concerns about aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance.
Speaker 5 (Jamie), who led the assumptions review, said the county will continue to use Portland State University population estimates as the regionally accepted baseline, noting PSU’s recent upward revision but calling the forecast conservative for budgeting purposes. "We continue to use Portland State's numbers," Speaker 5 said, adding staff expects those figures to remain a primary regional reference.
On revenues, Jamie said the county is assuming 4% property-tax growth in FY2027 based on recent higher-than-expected assessed-value increases and new properties coming onto the tax rolls. "Instead this year, what we did is we assumed 4% growth in fiscal year 27," Speaker 5 said. Staff cautioned that some new-development and data-center revenue is modeled for later fiscal years (FY28 and FY30) and was not fully factored into FY27 forecasts.
Other revenue assumptions highlighted by Speaker 5 include a conservatively modeled 2% growth for federal and state grants when future awards are uncertain, a return to a modest increase in PILT payments, and a recognition that transient room tax is volatile and currently trending down. Road-related revenues rely heavily on SRS funding and a motor-vehicle tax trend modeled at about 3% annually.
On the expenditure side, staff proposed a 2.9% inflation assumption for FY27 to set COLA and step-progression estimates; Speaker 5 explained that step increases typically add roughly 2½–3% per step and that PERS contribution assumptions will be updated once actuarial numbers are available. For FY27, the budget assumes a 12.1% increase in health-insurance costs (reflecting a January rate change), with staff seeking alternatives and consultant review to cap increases at 10% starting Jan. 1, 2027. Speaker 5 summarized the FY27 health-insurance assumption: "For fiscal 27, the reason to 12.1 is that's reflective of the increase we've already experienced starting January 1 this year." Staff said consultants are scheduled to meet with county leaders next week to explore options that preserve benefit quality while improving predictability.
To control personnel costs, Speaker 3 described a new, more rigorous position-justification process implemented in the fall that requires departments to demonstrate why a new or vacant position is critical to delivering core services. The goal is to stabilize FTE growth and consider alternatives—contractors, shared services or technology—before approving new hires.
Committee members also discussed internal service fees, which departments have flagged as rising quickly. Speaker 3 said staff plans to review and slow the pace of fee increases to improve transparency and predictability for department budgets.
Christina (Speaker 7) reviewed minor fiscal-policy updates adopted Jan. 7. Notable changes include rewording landfill funding language so fee-funded services must cover 3 months of operating costs plus annual post-closure liability plus $250,000 for repairs (rather than citing a fixed dollar amount), and direction from commissioners to develop a more formal debt policy and a stability plan to address the county’s unfunded actuarial accrued liability (UAAL) for PERS.
When asked for a ballpark on the UAAL, Speaker 7 said, "It's around 8,000,000." She said the percentage would require consulting the actuarial report and noted the UAAL rose in the last biennium partly because investment returns fell short of prior assumptions.
Speaker 5 closed the presentation by outlining next steps: departments receive materials this month and work on five-year plans in February; March will include one-on-one budget reviews with departments; staff aim to finalize a budget proposal in April, present a package to the budget committee in May, and ask the Board of Commissioners to adopt the budget in June.
A motion to adjourn was moved and seconded and the committee ended the meeting after the chair called for a voice in favor.
The committee’s prioritized topics for FY27 will guide department requests over the coming months; staff emphasized the need for predictability on health-insurance costs and clarity on pension liability as central uncertainties for the coming budget cycle.
