Hearing for county 2025 budget Aug. 26

A public hearing scheduled at 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 26, will give the public a chance to weigh-in before the Washington County’s 2025 budget is set. The county’s budget year begins Oct. 1.

 In the upcoming fiscal year, county employees will see a 4 percent salary increase across the board, a decision reached by the Washington County Commissioners during their regular weekly meeting, July 15. The conclusion was drawn after the commissioners first suggested a 4 percent increase for elected officials and department heads, and 3 percent for employees.

 In swaying the commissioners to include their employees at the higher percentage, three department heads at the meeting expressed concerns on behalf of the employees.

 Juvenile Probation Supervisor Dahlia Stender said she believes it is important to recognize long term employees with additional training and certifications. Weed Superintendent Bonnie Davis expressed appreciation for the Board’s recognizing the additional responsibilities department heads carry, but “without employees, we have nothing.”

 Road and Bridge Supervisor Jerod Odoms said he hadn’t included a salary increase for himself in his budget request, but thought there could be blowback with the 4- and 3-percent differentiation, adding that “there is a need to plan for the future.”

 Asking the Board what they would like to see in the final budget, Washington County Clerk Donna White pointed out “there is always conversation about wanting our children and grandchildren to come back, work, and live within the county,” adding that if they cannot get a job here to make that affordable, they won’t.

 White also pointed out that over the next seven years, there could be as few as only three of her current employees still working for the county.

 The Board then moved to have White calculate a 4 percent increase across the board. According to the published budget’s bottom line, the budget’s total for salaries is increasing from $6,388,336 in 2024 to $6,908,050 for the coming year.

 The second largest budget in the county is the Road and Bridge department, with its total request coming in at $3,790,565. Beyond the salary increases, a big ticket item for county road users has the department’s chip sealing budget up by $300,000 for 2025, an increase of $300,000 over 2024. 

 The prosecutor’s office is part of the total justice fund, which also includes the sheriff’s office budget, building and grounds, jail, search and rescue, a miscellaneous line item, and a revenue stream from an opioid settlement. With a history of Washington County’s prosecutors already set up in their own law practices, it’s anyone’s guess when or if the county has ever provided the physical space for the DA.

 Commission Chair Lyndon Haines explained to the Signal American that while the county hasn’t provided the actual space for previous prosecutors, it has covered 80 percent of the costs of utilities, maintenance, supplies, and other items related to the function of the offices over the years.

 Preparing to provide a space for True Pearce, who is running unopposed for the prosecuting attorney position in the upcoming November general election, the board made a $230,000 offer, equal to the property’s appraised value, that was accepted on a house at 343 East Main St. The property has been used as a chiropractic business in the past, although most recently served as a residence. 

 White told the Signal American the funds for the purchase were out of county’s PILT (payment in lieu of taxes) interest funds. An original request of $48,000 in the budget anticipating renting a space for the prosecutor’s office has been reduced to $15,000 in the final proposed budget. PILT funds are federal dollars that are paid in place of tax revenues from public lands (Forest Service and BLM) located within county boundaries. Washington County’s 2024 payment announced by the Department of the Interior in June was $1,027,737.

 Along with the property’s purchase, the county submitted a conditional use permit request to the City of Weiser, with a City Planning and Zoning hearing held Monday, Aug. 19. There was no county representation at the hearing, and one neighboring property owner, Joseph Vaughn, submitted testimony in opposition to the request, concluding with “I’d like to encourage and urge Washington County to seek existing properties and buildings or within the business district of downtown Weiser. This would help revitalize those areas of our community that will help set the precedence for the future and hopefully will alleviate any confusions for the public on which of these locations are unknown as residential versus commercial.”

 In deliberations, commission members determined the requested use doesn’t fit the city’s permitted uses under codes 10-7-1 and 10-7-2, ultimately voting unanimously to deny the request. The commission’s recommendation will go to the City Council for discussion at the  regular monthly meeting scheduled for Sept. 9.