Washington County proposed budget closes $20.5 million general fund gap and preserves mandated county services

Washington County’s proposed $2 billion total budget for fiscal year 2025-26 is now available online for public review and comment. The proposed budget addresses a shortfall in the county’s general fund, an area of the budget supported primarily by property taxes. This is the fifth year in a row that Washington County has experienced a general fund gap between projected revenues and expenditures.

Over that same five-year period, Washington County has experienced the most population growth among the three counties that comprise the Portland metropolitan area, an indicator of the community’s growing demand for services.

“For nearly three decades, property taxes have been constrained by provisions in the Oregon Constitution that restrict this source of revenue to the point where it no longer covers the cost of the community’s increasing size and need for many county services, including a growing list of services mandated by law,” said County Administrator and Budget Officer Tanya Ange in the annual Budget Message to the county’s Budget Committee and public.

“[O]ur resolve is being tested more than ever as we struggle within a constrained property tax system to reach the right balance point,” continued Ange. “As a local government, we are obligated by state law to produce a balanced proposed budget each and every year. At the end of the day, the math has to be correct. Two plus two has to equal four.”

Achieving general fund balance
The county’s $333.7 million general fund, which gives policymakers broad spending flexibility when compared to other funds within the budget, has historically supported a variety of county services, sometimes beyond levels required by law. On the other hand, Oregon’s restricted framework for generating property taxes – the general fund’s primary revenue source – puts Washington County at a disadvantage relative to its regional peers.

A forecast of the county’s general fund revenues and expenditures in late 2024 revealed an imbalance of $20.5 million. Estimated expenditures included anticipated cost increases, such as health care insurance costs, growing retirement costs, higher costs of materials and so forth. Using this projected base budget as a starting place, county departments and offices submitted a range of general fund reduction scenarios at 10%, 13% and 17%. Budget officials then applied budget guidance from the Board of County Commissioners when deciding how to bring the general fund and other parts of the proposed budget into balance. As a result, the county’s proposed total budget is decreasing by $104.3 million or 5% when compared with the current-year’s budget as it has been modified, and the general fund is increasing by $5.3 million or 2%.

The largest impacts from general fund budget reductions in the proposed budget include the following, listed in order of size:

• General fund transfers - A $12 million reduction is made in general fund transfers that have historically funded the Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program (MSTIP, experiencing a general fund cut of $8.7 million) and Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS, with a cut of $3.9 million). In the years just prior to constitutional changes to Oregon’s property tax system, Washington County voters had approved property tax levies supporting these two areas of service. Changes to Oregon’s property tax system led to the tax rates for these two prior levies being merged with the county’s now permanent property tax rate. For many years following that change, the Board of County Commissioners had approved general fund transfers to MSTIP and WCCLS proportionate to what these original levies raised.
• Public Safety and Justice – A $7.1 million general fund reduction is made across this portfolio of services. General fund support for this functional area grows by $2.4 million or 2% overall in the proposed budget when compared with the current, modified budget for FY 2024-25. Reductions were largely made to vacant patrol and jail deputy positions within the Sheriff’s Office (representing $4.1 million), housing subsidies and 4.7 full-time equivalent vacant positions in the Community Corrections Department ($1.2 million), a new approach to providing juvenile detention services through a contract with Marion County as well as two reduced positions ($998,385) and 19 full-time equivalent positions in the Child Support Division of the District Attorney’s Office ($561,939), a non-mandated service that the Oregon Department of Justice has agreed can be merged with its Child Support Program.
• Housing, Health and Human Services – A $3.3 million general fund reduction is made, with overall general fund growth in this functional area of $301,283 or 3% when compared with the modified budget for the current budget year of FY 2024-25. Most of the general fund reductions are experienced by the Department of Health and Human Services, largely through elimination of five Public Health Division positions including vacant public health nurse positions that will reduce programming in the Nurse Family Partnerships program ($2.4 million), two positions within the Animal Services Division ($349,960) resulting in a reduction in Saturday hours of operation, a reduction of 1.25 positions serving veterans ($179,530) which may increase wait time and benefit delays and a shift in personnel and contracted services for Behavioral Health ($247,587).
• General Government – A $2.8 million general fund reduction is made to this functional area. Overall, this functional area grows by $1.6 million or 7% when compared with the modified budget for FY 2024-25. General fund reductions are primarily experienced in the County Administrative Office and the newly named Office of Access and Opportunity ($840,098). These cuts include the elimination of the Sustainability Office and positions such as an assistant county administrator, a program coordinator and a program specialist. Reductions are also made in the Facilities Division by eliminating five positions ($768,260) and bringing previously contracted services in-house. Information Technology Services eliminates three positions ($239,124). Other savings to the general fund are achieved by eliminating one or fewer full-time equivalent positions in each of the following: the County Auditor’s Office, County Counsel, Emergency Management, Elections Division and Human Resources.
• Land Use and Transportation – A $294,538 general fund reduction is made in this functional area. Overall this functional area decreases by $25,172 or 1% when compared with the modified budget for FY 2024-25. General fund reductions are experienced across services provided by Current Planning, including code compliance and plan review; service levels are expected to be primarily maintained by replacing general fund support with revenue derived from fees.
• Culture, Education and Recreation – Outside of the general fund transfer to library services mentioned earlier, a general fund reduction totals $80,926 for this functional area. Overall general fund growth for this area is $18,060 or 3% when compared with the modified budget for FY 2024-25. General fund reductions include a $63,026 reduction in Parks Services through adjusting three seasonal recreation positions and a $17,900 reduction in the Agricultural Extension Services that reduces administrative services provided by OSU Extension.

“As Budget Officer, I know I’m not alone in having mixed emotions around how we are facing these challenges as a local government organization,” said Ange in her Budget Message. “On the one hand, we feel great pride in pursuing our public service mission every day. This commitment to public service and our proximity to the community we serve also gives us a deep understanding of the needs we are not fully meeting year after year. On the other hand, we feel the responsibility of living within our means.”

Investments in employees and systems
Several initiatives meant to continue efforts to modernize and re-align the organization’s financial framework for long-term financial and operational stability are also included in the proposed budget. These investments include:

• Providing the 6% “PERS Pickup” to all Washington County employees not already receiving the Pickup using projected cost-of-living adjustments over a multi-year period with budgeted general fund resources covering the remainder. Washington County has provided the PERS Pickup for deputies in the Sheriff’s Office who are members of the Washington County Police Officers’ Association through their negotiated collective bargaining agreement. All other County employees have been paying their 6% contribution through payroll deductions.
• Replacing a 23-year-old business management tool for payroll, human resources, procurement, accounting and financial reporting. The initial cost estimate for the project is $19.7 million of which the Board has partially funded using $11 million in federal pandemic response and recovery funds that have already been received. The balance of $8.7 million would come from a combination of Strategic Investment Program (SIP) funds from large-scale economic development projects and related Gain Share revenue shared with the state.

Other capital investments
Through a new, comprehensive capital improvement plan (CIP), Washington County has begun identifying projects to improve the organization’s infrastructure, technology, facilities and major pieces of equipment. This best practice for local governments enables prioritization and alignment with available resources over a five-year window.

In addition to the enterprise resource planning tool already mentioned, key projects include:

• Continued improvements to 24-hour facilities within the public safety and justice system, including the Washington County Jail/Law Enforcement Center with an estimated total project cost of $57.4 million. Additional critical facilities receiving maintenance and systems replacements include HVAC replacements for the Justice Services Building ($5.8 million) and Community Corrections Center ($2 million). Federal pandemic recovery and SIP funds are largely supporting these projects.
• The Center for Addiction Triage, Treatment and Treatment (CATT) with a total estimated cost of $59.7 million. Funding comes from more than a dozen sources, including Behavioral Health funds, Measure 110 grant funds, opioid settlement funds and grants from health care partners including CareOregon, Providence Health Plan, Trillium Health Plan and Yamhill CCO.
• Information Technology improvements such as deployment of Windows 11 and replacing aging equipment is being funded through SIP-related Gain Share revenue, departmental resources or carry-forward dollars.
• Transportation improvements through MSTIP are still receiving funding, despite the reduced amount of general fund transfer. Under board policy, the transferred amount must grow in proportion with countywide assessed value growth (assumed to be 4.25% in this budget) and must be made after removing $12.5 million in debt service before any reduction is taken. The board has also authorized sale of $150 million in bonds to ensure timely completion of remaining projects

Special funds facing challenges
The total proposed budget, including both general fund and special fund amounts, would decrease by $104.3 million, representing a 5% reduction when compared to the 2024-25 modified budget. This change is largely explained by declines in intergovernmental revenue coming to two programs supported primarily by special funds: the Metro Supportive Housing Services program (a $76.4 million reduction in total resources).

Budget Committee meetings
Washington County has four distinct budget committees: the Washington County/Service District for Lighting No. 1, Urban Road Maintenance District, Enhanced Sheriff’s Patrol District and the North Bethany County Service District for Roads budget committees. These committees focus on their specific areas and some committees have shared memberships.

Members of the public are encouraged to participate in this year’s budget process in a variety of ways:

• Review the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Proposed Budget Summary posted to the Washington County website.
• Attend any of the budget meetings or public hearings virtually and provide comments at designated times. The public may also attend in person at the Charles D. Cameron Public Services Building, Auditorium, 155 N. First Avenue in Hillsboro.
• Meetings will also be livestreamed from the County’s YouTube channel.(Link is external) (Link opens in new window)
• Meeting dates and times include:
  • Monday, May 12, 2025 — 7 to 8:30 p.m. — Budget Town Hall hosted by the Washington County Board of Commissioners.
  • Wednesday and Thursday, May 14 and 15, 2025 – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – County Budget Committee begins receiving presentations about the proposed budget with briefings on each of the organization’s functional areas.
  • Tuesday, May 20, 2025 – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Washington County Budget Committee will hold a public hearing, followed by deliberation and a potential budget approval vote. Service district budget committees will also begin presentations, public hearings and potential budget approval votes, including the Service District for Lighting No. 1, Enhanced Sheriff’s Patrol District, Urban Road Maintenance District and North Bethany County Service District for Roads. Public testimony is welcomed prior to committee action on each budget. Register in advance by visiting the How to Testify webpage(Link opens in new window).

Washington County is a leading-edge, mission-focused organization that successfully serves the community now and in the years ahead. We are a human-centered organization that integrates equity into decision-making and supports the health, effectiveness, creativity and talents of our employees as public servants and the residents whom we serve. The organization is supported by a budget of $2.1 billion and is staffed by 2,442 full-time equivalent employees serving a diverse and growing population of 611,389 on the western side of the Portland metropolitan area. More information about Washington County can be found at washingtoncountyor.gov.