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Finance director: 92% of general fund now goes to salaries and benefits; bond borrowing under study
Summary
Finance director Mr. Wong told the board salary and benefit costs have climbed to roughly 92% of the general fund and that the district has hired EcoNorthwest to analyze whether a future bond could offset PERS costs — but current interest rates make borrowing marginal.
Finance director Mr. Wong told the board that salary and benefits have grown from about 78% of the general fund five years ago to around 92% in the upcoming budget, attributing the rise mainly to PERS. "This year that we're budgeting, we're looking at 92%," Wong said, and called the situation a structural funding issue beyond purely local fixes.
Wong said the district engaged EcoNorthwest to model whether borrowing roughly 18 months from now could yield enough savings over a 20‑year window to offset PERS costs, but cautioned that current bond interest rates are still a barrier. "Right now, the information I have is the interest rate is still... just a little too high to borrow bond," he said, noting that an interest rate under about 3% would be more favorable.
