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Board reviews $2.95 million in midyear amendments and reports $4.52 million in 2026 reductions to date
Summary
Cowlitz County staff presented a midyear budget amendment recognizing about $2.95 million in expenditure increases and about $900,000 in new revenues and summarized 2026 reduction efforts: an original $5.39 million target, $4.52 million achieved so far and a remaining shortfall of roughly $870,000.
County staff presented a midyear budget amendment and an update on 2026 reduction efforts, detailing revenue and expenditure adjustments and a multi-pronged approach to trimming the 2026 budget gap.
Sean Row reviewed departmental requests and midyear recognitions totaling about $2.95 million in expenditure increases and roughly $900,000 in additional revenues, covering items such as equipment purchases from ER&R, solid-waste vertical wells, recognized grant revenue for health and housing programs, and some sheriff's office shooting-range remediation. Row said the vertical wells project accounted for roughly $1.25 million of the adjustments.
On the 2026 reduction effort, staff reported an original reduction goal of $5,394,549 and said the county had achieved $4,518,420 to date, leaving about $870,000 to be addressed. Row described the steps that produced savings: staff reorganizations, reviews of open positions, reductions to professional services, cuts to travel and training, and scrutiny of overtime and extra-help costs. He said some cuts reflected constitutional or statutory constraints in certain departments, but many offices identified meaningful reductions.
Separately, budget management reviews for Noxious Weed and the clerk's office were presented. The Noxious Weed program reported that most field work is grant-funded, with the slide showing intergovernmental revenue and a program figure of $300,141 of $466,959. The clerk's office noted that Blake-related expenses are now being processed through the state and the county is tracking staff time for reimbursement.
Commissioners praised staff diligence in identifying reductions and asked staff to continue working on the remaining shortfall; the board scheduled a public hearing on the budget amendment at 9:30 a.m. the following day.
Next steps include further department-level reviews to close the remaining gap and formal consideration of the amendment at the scheduled public hearing.
