San Juan County budget shortfall after levy fails forces $4 million cut and health staff reductions

San Juan County is preparing steep budget reductions after a county levy failed, council member Justin Paulson told the EPRC. Paulson said the council has identified about $4,000,000 in cuts to the current‑expense budget and is asking departments to propose substantial reductions rather than plea for restorations.

"We have settled on a chart of what we need to cut, and it's gonna be about $4,000,000 out of the current expense budget," Paulson said, adding that figure represents roughly a 13% cut to current expenses and “about a 20% cut to county general fund overall.” He urged departments to present prioritized, specific proposals during an accelerated June budget review schedule.

Paulson said the county recently learned of a state funding change that will reduce local public‑health support. "We have had a month and a half to cut $350,000 from the health department," he said, and warned that "as of July 1, the health department will lose 3 staff members." He attributed the cut in part to state adjustments tied to nicotine and vaping law changes, saying a legislative reallocation sent some funds away from a foundational public‑health account.

Officials raised, but did not adopt, two potential local revenue options Paulson described: a one‑tenth of one percent (0.1%) sales tax earmarked for public safety, and a five‑cent property‑tax levy to fund public‑health clinics. Paulson cautioned the council has not decided to pursue either measure and said he worries that adopting new local revenue now could complicate future ballot initiatives.

The council also highlighted several service and program responses while planning cuts. Paulson described a new pilot mental‑health co‑response program to pair crisis responders with sheriff's deputies; he said Evergreen Recovery Centers was selected to provide crisis responders, funded in part through Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization (BHASO) allocations tied to a rural‑designation funding stream.

"It's a mental health co‑response program with the sheriff's office," Paulson said, adding that the BHASO funding — tied to a federal/state rural health designation — allowed budgeting for two staff instead of one. He said the designation and BHASO funding must be pursued annually.

Paulson also said county staff are working to update land‑use tables to reflect modern uses such as solar generation and to draft a state bill that would ask Washington State Ferries to provide reservation priorities for essential providers (medical providers, dental vans, grocery providers), though ferry officials remain concerned about verification and implementation workload.

No formal votes or policy adoptions were made at the meeting; council members said the budget discussion will continue through June and into August, when fuller impacts are expected to be known.