Commissioners okay budgets for 2017

Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday passed a resolution adopting county budgets for 2017.

Predicting revenue shortfalls for another year, officials tried to keep increases as low as possible.

The county treasurer has had to make $1.1 million in interfund loans in 2016 to cover expense, commission Chair Blair Brady said Monday.

Those interfund loans must be repaid, he said, and the 2017 revenue shortfall will be around $700,000.

The county received $900,000 this month from the Department of Natural Resources from a land transfer that will help repay the loans, Brady said. He added that officials are lobbying for legislation to compensate the county for trust timberland taken out of production for endangered species habitat.

The county will also divert $427,000 from the County Road Levy to the Current Expense Fund, which finances most county services.

When commissioners held their public hearing on the budget on Monday, several persons urged them to fund a manager for the Wahkiakum Community Center.

The center has been closed since summer when the manager's Americorps position expired.

Craig Brown, a center volunteer, commented that he had conducted a survey a few years ago for another organization and learned that of six counties in the region, only Wahkiakum had no senior or youth center.

"We really need to have a community center and to keep it going," he said.

Suzanne Holmes, who has served on the county's mental health advisory board and now represents the county on the board of directors of the Great Rivers Behavioral Health Organization, agreed. Adults age 50 and over constitute 56 percent of the county's population, she said, and a senior center is needed to ensure that the county "remains a place where growing older is a life journey that promotes choice, independence and dignity." The center can provide opportunities for learning, social connection and healthy aging, she said.

County Mental Health Director Chris Holmes said the budget includes $5,000 for a part-time director who would work 15 hours a week.

Department staff are looking for grants and recruiting partners for funding and have had some success, "but we're still trying to find others," he said.

Commissioner Dan Cothren commented that he supports county funding for the center. "I think the county should be putting money into it," he said.

"Where are we going to get it," asked Brady.

"I don't know," Cothren replied, "but when you look at the numbers, it's a priority."

Commissioner Mike Backman said he wanted to evaluate the issue before allocating funds to the center in Cathlamet.

"I'd like to look at alternatives to make this thing go," he said.

There is also a community center at the Grays River Valley Center in Rosburg, and Backman said he would like to have discussions about management of both centers.

"I'd like to table it," Backman said.

Discussions will continue at a later date.

In other budget notes:

--At the moment, only mental health personnel will receive raises in the 2017 budgets. State funders have allocated funds to boost the department's wages and salaries, which are lower in comparison to neighbor counties. This has led to a high rate of turnover in personnel.

Brady said contract negotiations are underway with the county employees union.

--On Tuesday, commissioners adopted the annual road construction program with a funding level of $2.87 million.

Projects anticipated for 2017 include replacing the Clear Creek passage under the Elocohoman Valley Road, including a major realignment in that area; repaving a portion of Columbia Street; replacing other culverts under the Elochoman Valley and Altoona/Pillar Rock roads; realigning a curve on West Birnie Slough Road at the Crossdike Road intersection, and improvements to the Steamboat Slough, East Valley and Eden Valley roads.