PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners have approved a $57.3 million balanced budget for next year, overcoming an initial $4.2 million deficit. Expenses are projected at $56.6 million, with revenue up 6.3% from this year.
County Administrator Todd Mielke says the deficit was resolved through a “7 percent exercise,” requiring 18 departments to reduce their budgets by seven percent.
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“We did that through a number of gyrations. One is, we understand, you know, to the best of our ability, it’s about living within our means but also measuring that against this notion of inflationary pressure. And just because we’re government, we’re not immune to the pressures of inflation,” Mielke told Newsradio KONP.
Because of that, the county did take a state-allowed one percent property levy increase for it’s general and roads funds.
But Mielke says there were also some position cuts at the county.
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“Yes. And so, essentially, if you were going to compare 2025 to 2024, you’ll see a reduction of a little bit more than 12 FTEs.”or full-time equivalents,” said Mielke
Many of the cuts were reabsorbed in other positions and there were a number of positions that were open, and no one will be hired to fill them next year.
But the county may be facing some larger budgetary winds in the future. County commissioner Randy Johnson says that depends on what the state does this legislative session. Especially looming, is a proposed dramatic change in case load levels or indigent defense that could add millions to the county budget.
“You’ve heard already about something called indigent defense. If that comes rolling down, it won’t all happen in one year—not in ’25—but it will happen over the next three years. And suddenly, that’s a $2-plus million bill to a $6-plus million bill. Where’s that money going to come from? And if the state legislature—by the way, they’re in a big hole too—how are they going to help fund us on that? So far, they’ve decided not to fund us,” said Johnson.
The county is required to pay for defense for those who can’t afford an attorney. However, the state currently doesn’t provide full funding even though the cases are representative of the state of Washington.