County commissioners approve $2.5M increase to general fund

Yamhill County departments are in line for an across-the-board 3% general fund allocation increase, following the Board of Commissioners approval at its annual budget kickoff meeting last week.

County Administrator Ken Huffer recommended the increase — totaling $941,377 countywide — for departments to offset personnel and other cost increases.

“We have several new collective bargaining agreements in place, we have escalating costs across the board whether it’s fuel, supplies, materials, personnel costs,” Huffer told the board. “So the intent is not to necessarily cover all of those increased costs but it at least gives an initial increase to their discretionary allocation”

The board unanimously approved general fund departmental budgets for fiscal year 2025-26, totaling $34,289,087, an increase of over $2.5 million from fiscal year 2024-25.

Along with the 3% increase, Huffer recommended an additional $1.6 million in specific allocations, including $800,000 for the capital improvement fund to assist with financing for the county’s purchase of the former Oregon Mutual Insurance building and build up reserves for future projects including remodeling the courthouse.

“OMI is just part of the overall facilities plan that we’re looking at doing over the next several years,” Huffer said.

Other allocations include $550,000 to the jail to assist with an upcoming medical provider contract, $150,000 for Sheriff’s patrol and $70,000 to the Assessor’s Office to help with software and personnel needs and cover costs for surveying flyovers, according to Huffer.

Huffer projects approximately $29 million in property tax revenues next year and said both the year’s beginning balance and property tax revenue should be higher than previously budgeted. He cautioned that this is the first step in a six-month process that will culminate with an approved budget in June.

“This is a baseline to start with,” he said. “This is where we sharpen our pencils, we figure out where there’s additional resources, we look at our priorities, we cut expenses where we can.

“This is a baseline and we have six months of discussions ahead of us, this is just the kickoff.”

The projections are conservative, but leave the county with an estimated ending balance of $1.4 million in the general fund, Huffer said.

“I get nervous if that’s below a million because that’s really an operational contingency for future fiscal years. I want to make sure we have that,” he said.

Commissioner Lindsay Berschauer expressed frustration over rising costs leaving the county with little left over despite higher property tax revenues.

“We seem to go through this every year where we have these record revenues and then you get to the nitty gritty of it and we’re barely above $1 million at the end,” Berschauer said. “Expenses and obligations are outpacing revenues for sure, consistently.”

The board also approved budget instructions that will be passed along to department heads in January.

The only major change to the annual instructions is to require reclassification and other personnel requests be entered before final budget approval, because in the past there have been last minute changes, Huffer said.

“We’re up against some really short timelines and so when we start doing a lot of these changes … sometimes too much change is too much for our staff to really get incorporated.”

Huffer will meet with department heads Jan. 7 and will work with staff on initial budget review throughout February. The Budget Committee is scheduled to convene from April 28-30, with a final hearing on May 29, and the budget formally approved June 12, according to Huffer.