Coos County takes a wait-and-see approach so it can operate within its means.
Turns out common sense can still exist in government. Coos County has decided to push pause on certain budget appropriations until it knows just how much money it will be getting from greater access to federal O&C timber funds.
Last year, Congress increased the share of tax receipts counties can keep from federal O&C timber lands. The increase–from 50% to 75% of receipts–is expected to create a large revenue boost to Western Oregon counties.
Governments tend to make revenue projections and build budgets based on those projections. Unfortunately, this approach leads to budget problems as the revenues have not actually been taken in when the appropriations are made. The result can be budget shortfalls if tax receipts come in short of expectations. Elected officials then have to make the choice of budget cuts or gouging the taxpayer for more money. Taking a wait-and-see approach helps avoid the problem altogether.
It would have been unsurprising to see Coos and other counties make appropriations based on the anticipated revenue increase. However, Coos County has decided to take the smart approach of waiting to see what the actual revenue is before making budget decisions. Coos County Treasurer Megan Simms told Oregon Public Broadcasting that the county will have a clearer picture of what that revenue looks like by next spring. That money will be used for the following fiscal year.
Other counties should take note and take the same budgeting approach. Kudos to Coos for not rushing to spend money it might not have.