Washington County administrator presents quarterly management report; ERP, shelter projects and ARPA obligations highlighted

Washington County’s quarterly management report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 was presented to the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 4, with program updates spanning IT modernization, shelter and homelessness services, library and public‑safety levy work, ARPA commitments, and a countywide classification and compensation project.

Why it matters: the report summarized multi‑department initiatives that affect county operations and budgets, noted constrained staff capacity, and set near‑term milestones that will influence upcoming budget and levy decisions.

Key highlights from the presentation County administration reported progress on the county’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) replacement and an employee portal (Horizons). Staff said the county completed initial design work for the employee intranet and is continuing steps to modernize the public website and internal systems to improve resiliency and reduce unplanned downtime.

On homelessness and supportive housing (SHS), the report noted the Beaverton shelter opened in December and the county funded two transitional housing projects that together will provide 119 recovery and stabilization units. Staff said Open Door received funding for an access center in Cornelius. The presentation also included a caution that December revenue projections for SHS were lower than forecast.

Library and public‑safety levies Staff briefed the board on work for the Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) levy and a public safety local option levy. The library levy steering committee and EMC Research have completed initial polling; staff reported polling tested a replacement levy at $0.65 per $1,000 of assessed value (an 18‑cent increase over the current rate). The public safety levy steering committee and EMC completed first‑round polling work and are developing recommended service levels and levy rates for board consideration.

ARPA and fiscal milestones Washington County reported it received approximately $117,000,000 in ARPA state and local fiscal recovery funds. Staff said the county met the Treasury’s contractual obligation deadline (Dec. 30, 2024) for obligating ARPA allocations and is on a spending timeline that aims for full expenditure by Dec. 30, 2026. Staff noted some capital contracts were large enough that they may draw additional unobligated funds if other projects underspend.

Assessment and taxation; class and compensation work Staff presented an assessment snapshot showing the county’s assessed portfolio at roughly $1.197 trillion; the county retains approximately 16.3% of collected property tax revenues after distribution to local taxing districts. Administration reported a countywide classification and compensation project is underway (developing job descriptions), and staff set a target of June 30, 2025 to complete that study phase; implementation, staff said, could take multiple years depending on findings.

Reporting cadence and board questions Commissioners debated whether to keep a quarterly cadence for the report or consolidate the next two quarters into a single July update during the fiscal year work on the budget. Some commissioners emphasized the public‑transparency value of a quarterly cadence and noted some departments missed the current report deadline due to staff capacity; others said the May report would fall in the middle of budget season and asked if consolidation would reduce burden on staff. Administration said it would seek board direction and balance staff capacity with the board’s desire for regular transparency.

Operational notes Staff said the jail capacity and community corrections expansion study with consultant Matrix continues and will return with an updated timeline when more information is available. The presentation also noted the county’s ARPA obligations covered all approved investments in the board’s 02/19/26 framework and that no ARPA or CARES funds were returned to the federal government.

Speakers and next steps The report was presented by the county administrator (Tanya). Commissioners asked for additional briefings and requested that staff circulate updates and timelines — especially for the Matrix jail study, levy‑related polling and class‑and‑comp milestones. Administration said staff capacity limits affected some department inputs for the report and pledged to refine the reporting process and schedule.

Limitations The report summarized department‑provided metrics; several departments could not update their dashboards in time for this presentation because of workload, and staff said those updates will appear in the next quarterly report unless the board provides different direction on cadence.