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Mason County workshop sets $2 million target to close midyear budget gap
Summary
Commissioners at a Mason County budget workshop identified a projected $8.24 million shortfall for the current fiscal year and agreed on a working goal to seek $2,000,000 in current-year savings while asking staff to explore furloughs, use of restricted funds and voter-approved tax options under recent state law.
Chair (S3) opened a budget workshop by telling colleagues the meeting’s purpose was to "define what the problem is and define the parameters for what we're going to try and do." The group focused immediately on packet figures showing revenue and expenditures through May 31.
Commissioner (S1) summarized the packet math: remaining expected revenue of $25,954,148 against projected expenditures of $34,191,769, producing a shortfall of about $8,237,000 from May 31 forward. "That's the real number that you're dealing with other than hoping that we will get more in and hoping that we will expend less," Commissioner (S1) said.
Why it matters: the shortfall frames decisions for the rest of the budget year and drives what cuts or revenue options the county will pursue. Commissioners debated how much to treat as an immediate target versus a multi-year problem; Commissioner (S1) said he is looking at a five-year horizon but urged the group to first address the current-year gap.
Staff (S2) and commissioners discussed planning assumptions. The group agreed a conservative maintenance growth rate of 2.5 percent should be used for near-term planning; staff showed that applying 2.5 percent to last year’s actuals ($50,835,967) would raise that baseline to about $52,106,866, a difference staff calculated as roughly $1,270,899 that affects next year’s budget (a described “bow wave” of about $1.2 million).
Options and proposals: commissioners discussed a range of responses. Commissioner (S1) proposed a minimum $2,000,000 in current-year reductions as a working target, saying deeper cuts would be more damaging. The commission discussed several concrete measures to pursue: department-level reductions, targeted furloughs, and strategic use of restricted funds. Commissioner (S1) highlighted a proposal to use O9-designated funds to temporarily cover deputy positions, which he said could save roughly three deputy positions at under $1.5 million over a multi-year period if the justification holds.
Revenue ideas were raised but treated cautiously. Commissioner (S1) said "it may be a public safety sales tax" but emphasized he was not eager to ask voters for new taxes. Commissioner (S4) pointed commissioners to recently passed state legislation (referred to in the meeting as "2442") that provides counties with a menu of voter-approved and council-authorized tax options and other tools some counties have already used.
Reserve and accounting concerns: Commissioner (S1) flagged a reserve accounting discrepancy involving a planned $400,000 IT fund transfer that appears to show only $100,000 actually moved; commissioners said the difference complicates the appearance of cash-on-hand and should be clarified.
Next steps: the commission agreed on a working target of roughly $2,000,000 in current-year savings and asked the county administrator and department heads to return with specific options — including a proposal from the sheriff on furloughs — for review at the next briefing cycle. Commissioner (S4) moved to adjourn and Commissioner (S1) seconded; the workshop was adjourned.
The county did not take a formal vote to adopt a specific combination of cuts or revenue measures; commissioners framed the $2,000,000 as a planning target and directed staff to develop options for consideration.
