Washington County Moves Closer to Billion-Dollar Budget

One billion dollars.

That's the size of the all-funds budget approved by Washington County's Budget Committee Thursday.

The budget, according to a statement from the county, maintains "county services and make additional investments in key areas including facilities and information technology, affordable housing, mental health care and community engagement."

It represents a seven percent increase over last year's budget, which was made possible by the passage earlier this week of a $77 million bond measure by voters.

That money will be dedicated to replacing the county's 911-dispatch center.

"Unlike during the recession, when revenue was tightening in key areas, assessed values have been rebounding recently, leading to an increase in discretionary resources available to the county and many of our local government partners," County Administrator Robert Davis wrote in the proposal's introductory pages.

"The combination of these new resources with the growing presence of several acute social issues represents a challenge and opportunity to our organization and directly frames many of the new initiatives and priorities included in this year's proposed budget."

The next step for the budget process involves a public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners at 6:30 p.m. on June 28 in the Auditorium of the Charles D. Cameron Public Services Building, 155 North First Avenue, Hillsboro. The public is invited to attend this meeting and make comments.