County approves FY2023 budget

On Aug. 29, Washington County Commissioners approved its proposed FY2023 budget.

 The budget reflects an overall increase from $17,700,864 in 2022 to $18,896.172.12 for 2023, a difference of $1,195,308.12.

 Much of the nearly $2 million increase is a product of high inflation rates that reached 9.1 percent over the year in June, but dipped back down to 8.5 percent in July, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reports the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI measures the monthly change in price for a myriad of goods and services paid by U.S. consumers.

 High inflation rates affect the county in terms of costs for materials, services, and labor.

 In Washington County, employees will receive a 3 percent raise across the board, with another 4 percent earmarked for department heads who can make discretionary pay raises for some employees.

 In total, employee raises represent $330,027 of the $1.195 million budget increase. 

 During the Aug. 29 meeting, Commissioner Kirk Chandler explained that the county is experiencing difficulties in retaining employees, which has precipitated salary increases.

 “What we’ve been up against is that [high] inflation,” he said. “It’s hard to keep employees and we are a small county with limited resources.”

 Canyon County in August published its tentative $132 million budget, which represented a $12,000 per year raise for all employees across the board, according to Chandler. The Weiser Signal American was unable to verify that number at time of publication.

 Like Washington County, Canyon County is having a hard time retaining employees and currently has 20 open positions, according to its website.

 “They have employees quitting every day and have not been able to hire more people,” Chandler said.

 He added that Washington County does not have employees quitting that frequently, but that it is nonetheless having a hard time retaining them.

 “The increase in wages is the highest the county has ever given,” he said. “It’s 3 percent across the board and 4 percent that the department heads can use as they feel needed, so if there is somebody that needs to be paid more, they can pay them more.”

 Pay increases are happening at local and state levels all over the country, all apparently spurred by inflation and workers leaving government jobs for the private sector where they are allegedly paid more.

 “We are losing employees left and right to other employers that are able to pay more than the county,” said Commissioner Nate Marvin. “It’s a struggle to keep budgets low but still have a salary that people are willing to go to work for.”

 The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is having trouble retaining deputies, according to county officials.

 “The Sheriff’s office is a constant turnover of employees going to the prison or Payette County or another agency, and as you know, it costs a lot of money to train law enforcement people and then just have them leave after five or six years, and then you are starting over, so we are looking at that so we are not having a constant turnover, but even with what we have done, we are still losing people,” Marvin said.

 The Sheriff’s office will continue with its step-and-grade system.

 “We calculated wage increases for the Sheriff’s office, but it is based off certifications, training, and years of service,” said Washington County Clerk Donna Atwood.

Levy Rates:

 In its budget, the county proposed a levy rate of .0048 precent, compared to last year’s levy rate of .0056 percent, reflecting a decrease of $82.99 per $100,000 in taxable property value.