Washington County adopts $536.2 million FY2027 budget after 4–1 vote amid property-tax debate

The Washington County Board of County Commissioners voted 4–1 to adopt the county's FY2027 operating and capital budgets, approving a $536,236,360 total spending plan after commissioners debated tax-rate relief and spending cuts.

The budget package presented by Chief Financial Officer Kelsey Mace included a general fund total of $355,751,800, a capital budget of $103,531,000 and other funds totaling $76,953,560. During discussion staff and commissioners said the county historically experiences year-end reallocations and overages; staff estimated a smaller overage for this fiscal year, roughly around $5 million.

A commissioner offered an amendment to reduce the property tax rate from 0.928 to 0.920 and to cut 0.5 percentage points from county operating spending (excluding the locally funded Board of Education appropriation). The amendment would have reduced projected county revenues by $980,520 and relied on anticipated year-end excess to offset the shortfall. That amendment did not receive a second and was not advanced.

Following debate about rising property assessments and limits set by the homestead tax credit (noted in the meeting as a 5% cap for eligible primary residences), the board called the vote and adopted the budget by a 4'to—1 margin. One commissioner expressly opposed the adoption and asked for future consideration of tax relief, saying residents were struggling with higher energy and housing costs; that explanation was entered on the record prior to the vote.

The board's action finalizes the county's FY2027 spending plan. Commissioners noted the board of education appropriation was adjusted to match the board's approved budget and that wage-scale decompression funding was reallocated to appropriate departments. No procedural date for implementation was announced during the meeting.