Clallam Budget Recommendation Projects $2 Million Draw on Reserves

Clallam County would use about $2 million in General Fund reserves next year under the administrator’s recommended budget, even with an anticipated $1.49 million from a new criminal-justice sales tax.

The Finance Department’s forecast would leave the fund with about $14.48 million at the end of 2027. That is nearly $2 million above the commissioners’ minimum reserve target, but below the county’s separate goal of keeping reserves equal to 25 percent of expenditures.

Residents can question county officials about the proposal at a budget town hall Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m. in the Forks City Hall Council Chamber, 500 E. Division St. The meeting also will cover the six-year Transportation Improvement Program.

The recommendation, prepared for the commissioners’ Oct. 5 work session, remains subject to revision. The budget calendar calls for a proposed final budget Nov. 16 and adoption hearings Dec. 1.

Spending exceeds projected revenue

The General Fund summary lists $57.9 million in revenue and $59.4 million in expenditures, including transfers to other funds. The initial gap is about $1.46 million.

Finance staff expect the county to spend $851,000 less than budgeted on payroll. They also estimate $1.397 million in net costs that have not yet been incorporated into the detailed budget. Together, those adjustments bring the projected reserve draw to about $2.008 million.

The estimates account for labor agreements, an additional civil deputy prosecuting attorney, courthouse security, changes in costs charged to other county funds and the transfer of franchise administration to Public Works.

Some of those costs remain unsettled. The finance report says negotiations over labor and other contracts could change the amounts ultimately needed. It identifies public defense, insurance, labor costs and timber revenue among the pressures on the county’s longer-term finances.

The forecast assumes the county’s new 0.1 percent criminal-justice sales tax takes effect in April 2027 and begins producing county receipts in June. The $1.487 million included in the recommendation represents seven months of revenue.

Department reviews also changed the spending plan. Compared with the preliminary budget, the recommendation removes $126,000 in duplicate information-technology costs and reduces coroner transport and autopsy expenses by $65,000.

Other changes add costs, including $175,000 in proposed carryover funding for indigent-defense services and $102,000 in higher vehicle rental expenses. Moving $372,000 in software licensing expenses from services to debt service changes how those costs are classified, without reducing the amount spent.

One-time costs shape the forecast

The finance report separates the projected 2027 shortfall from its estimate of the county’s ongoing finances.

Removing $1.68 million in one-time net costs and counting an additional $866,000 from a full year of the assumed sales-tax revenue would produce an estimated ongoing surplus of $538,000. Those adjustments describe the outlook beyond the expenses and partial-year tax receipts included in the 2027 proposal. They do not eliminate next year’s projected draw on reserves.

Under the recommendation, reserves would fall from about $16.49 million to $14.48 million, leaving roughly $1.98 million above the commissioners’ $12.5 million minimum.

Wednesday’s Forks town hall includes a question-and-answer session. Residents can attend in person, join through Zoom using meeting ID 836 9266 4344 and passcode 12345, or call 253-215-8782 with the same credentials. The county also provides a livestream at clallamcountywa.gov/meetings.