(The Center Square) – Spokane County is bracing for major cuts to close a $25 million deficit by 2027.
Last year, the county eliminated 120 positions, most of which were vacant, to close a $20 million gap.
Jeff McMorris, senior director of finance and administration, says with most of that “low-hanging fruit” already out of the way, the Board of County Commissioners will have to make some difficult decisions.
The officials reviewed draft letters on Monday that McMorris and Spokane County CEO Scott Simmons will send to every department this week, asking them to use the 2026 budget as a baseline for 2027.
“Every department is going to be looking at some constraints next year,” McMorris warned the board.
He suggested implementing a hiring freeze and said the county will likely face more attrition in 2027.
While the board approved a 1% property tax hike in 2024 to close a deficit ahead of 2025 and raised some fees to address another gap in 2026, the officials typically turn to cost-of-living increases as a last resort.
Last year, the commissioners asked every department head to cut spending by 7%, leading the board to eliminate 120 general fund positions. That’s not really an option this time around, so the board is considering some revenue options if it can’t close the $25 million shortfall with an all-cuts budget.
“The reality is, even if we pulled every revenue option out of our hat, it will not cover this year’s gap,” Commissioner Amber Waldref, who is running unopposed for reelection this fall, explained on Monday.
McMorris said revenues are growing at about 1% annually, while expenditures increase at about 7%.
Last month, he presented several revenue options, such as raising property taxes by the 1% annual limit, taking banked capacity from property tax hikes that the board has declined in the past, imposing councilmatic taxes without voter approval, increasing the general levy rate or doing a road levy shift.
Other options included delaying vehicle purchases for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office to save $1.3 million and cutting the only non-mandated department, Parks, Recreation and Golf, to save $4 million.
Salary and benefits make up the majority of general fund spending, with law and justice departments making up 75% of the budget when broken down further. McMorris has warned that residents will see service-level reductions if the board doesn’t find a way to increase revenue beyond sales tax growth.
Local tax revenues had plateaued in recent years, but McMorris said they are trending upward again.
He suggested saving that revenue to fund specific priorities rather than increasing overall spending.
The board is also considering sunsetting hiring bonuses for the sheriff’s office and detention services, closing a courtroom in Spokane Valley and scrutinizing overoptimistic departmental revenue projections.
“Some departments do a really great job estimating their revenues,” McMorris said. “Other departments … overestimate their revenues, and then the board gives them higher expenditure authority.”
Each department will meet with the commissioners over the coming months before the board votes on budget adoption this fall.
