Cowlitz County staff outline 2027 budget calendar as assessor reports midyear revenue shortfall

County staff reported a small year-to-date revenue balance in the assessor’s office and circulated a detailed calendar for the 2027 budget process.

At the meeting, staff said the assessor’s office has collected $9,223 of an estimated $20,000 in 2026 recording fees tied to open-space and exemption applications and $10 in miscellaneous receipts. Personnel spending for the office was described as about $900,000 of a $2,050,000 budget. "It's just a pass through account," said Emily of the assessor’s office, describing recording fees that are collected and recorded on applicants’ behalf.

The board also received a draft budget calendar for 2027. The timeline would open Budget Boss on July 13, allow departments to enter requests through Aug. 10, and tentatively present a first review to the board on July 24. Staff said the early sessions will focus on non-departmental budgets to identify savings opportunities, with levy discussion set for Nov. 17 and a tentative final budget hearing on Dec. 1.

County staff discussed expected supply and services spending in the assessor’s budget, noting planned software purchases of about $5,000 and services including subscriptions, short-term professional contracts and internal services. On phones, staff said a change to a lower-cost plan will cut annual costs for the affected line to roughly $1,400 from a prior budgeted $7,000: "The new plan that we're on is, like, 120," Emily said, adding the county will review whether that plan can be spread across departments to maximize savings.

The board did not take formal action on the calendar at the meeting; staff said they would distribute the calendar to department heads and elected officials to begin the 2027 process.