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Cowlitz County staff report assessor revenues, outline 2027 budget calendar
Summary
County staff reported $9,223 collected so far for 2026 recording-fee revenues tied to open-space exemptions, outlined personnel and services expenditures, described a major cell-phone plan cost reduction, and presented a tentative 2027 budget calendar with key dates through a Dec. 1 final hearing.
County staff updated commissioners Tuesday on the assessor’s office finances, a departmental push to cut recurring costs and a tentative calendar for the 2027 budget process.
Sean, who led the assessor update, said the office has collected $9,223 of a $20,000 revenue estimate for 2026 tied to recording fees for open-space exemptions and a $10 miscellaneous item. On the expense side, staff reported personnel at roughly $900,000 of a $2,050,000 budget, supplies about $5,700 of a $22,750 budget and services just under $95,000 of a $276,000 budget. The office plans a roughly $5,000 computer-software purchase for supplies.
A commissioner asked whether the open-space line referred to vacant land. A staff member explained the line covers the exemption program (for DFL and open-space filings) and noted, “So they have an application fee because we have to record something. It’s just a pass through account.”
Staff also described a change to the county cell-phone plan intended to reduce recurring costs. The staff member said the prior plan ran about $580 per month per device and that the new plan is about $120 per month, anticipating roughly $1,400 for the year rather than the budgeted $7,000. The board directed staff to avoid new multi-year phone contracts so the county can realize savings earlier.
Separately, staff presented a tentative calendar for the 2027 budget: open Budget Boss on July 13 with department submissions through Aug. 10, an initial presentation to the board on July 24, a workshop period through November, a levy-focused session Nov. 17 and a tentative final budget hearing Dec. 1. Staff said the timeline allows time to table items or extend discussion if needed.
Under the consent agenda, staff also announced a public hearing for the first of three planned budget amendments, scheduled for Aug. 11 at 9:30 a.m.
The meeting moved on after a short discussion; no formal vote was recorded on the assessor’s presentation or the calendar.
