Facing shortfalls, commissioners start on budgets

 

October 27, 2016



Wahkiakum County officials have started work on 2017 budgets, and it's a story that's been repeated for several years.

Commissioners have asked department heads not to ask for anything new, and they say projected expenses will exceed projected revenue.

The board finished meeting with department heads this week to go over requests. The budgets will go to the county auditor's office for compilation, and the board will work on them late in November, with final action coming the first week in December.

Meeting with Treasurer Tammy Peterson on Monday, officials talked about the 2016 shortfall for the Current Expense Fund, which covers most courthouse offices. Peterson borrows from reserve funds to maintain cash flow. This year, commissioners expect late-arriving revenue from timber harvest and compensation for timber involved in a Department of Natural Resources land transfer will help cover the shortfall.

"I owe the other funds $1 million in loans," she said. "That's what the timber money will go--to pay off loans."

Peterson and Commissioner Dan Cothren agreed that the county will receive less timber harvest excise tax, which private land owners pay for harvest timber.

Cothren said companies have cut most of the mature timber on their private lands in Wahkiakum County, so there won't be much harvest there in 2017.

Peterson said she's already seeing this, for, after years of steady growth, 2016 timber excise revenue will be less than expected.

"We're going to be in a down posi-

tion for quite a while," Cothren said.

"Looking forward, our revenue is not increasing in proportion to our expenses," said Commissioner Blair Brady.

Commissioners anticipated making another diversion of tax revenue in 2017 from the County Road Levy. Brady said $427,000 would be available.

"It's going to get cut," Cothren said. "We just don't know how much."

Peterson said the county's property tax levy could be increased 1 percent, the statutory maximum without a vote by the public, and that would generate another $10,000.

Brady noted that the county hasn't raised the levy when it could have over the years, and that would allow a larger increase than the 1 percent.

"We do have banked capacity," Brady said. "That's something we will have to look at--if we want to go 2 percent."

 

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