2027 San Juan County budget development process | A message from Council Member Justin Paulsen

Conversations to balance the 2027 budget will continue throughout summer and fall months.

||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS |||

On June 30th, the County Council completed an initial step in what is a multi-step process aimed at reaching a balanced budget for 2027. This process involved gathering information from across the organization on possible cuts, reorganization options and previously unidentified savings available from the current budget period. The goal of this exercise was to identify a minimum of $4 million in options so that we could prepare for an extended period of austerity in the county budget going forward. We are not yet there, having identified roughly $3.7 million through the initial exercise. Work will continue.

This first step brought together leadership from across the county, who laid out potential impacts which would affect programs and services throughout the organization. At the conclusion of this first step, nearly 60 separate items are identified as options for consideration in the draft budget adoption. Some items are small, some items are large, but every item will have an impact on the delivery of programs and services across our community. Some are one-time savings and others are longer term, which means that absent additional revenues, further cuts will need to happen in future years. The proposed changes will reduce staffing levels, reduce expenditures, consolidate functions and impact nearly every operating function of our county government.

As we continue to work through November on finalizing a balanced budget, there will be further, focused discussion of specific items. My goal is to continue to assure that these discussions are open, transparent and available to the public, with a commitment to making myself available to all of our communities for deeper conversations. This process will remain a community dialogue, which requires us to look deeply at what is necessary to meet essential and mandated needs first. This discussion is guided by an understanding that available funding has trailed inflation for the last 6 years, all while the county has worked hard to maintain programs and services over that same period with decreased support from the federal and state governments. While none of the choices we are faced with are easy, we have clearly heard from the public that this work must be done. Our charge now is to strike a balance to secure the public, financial and physical health for the county going forward.

I thank my fellow elected officials, our incredible staff and every member of the public who has and continues to provide their thoughts and consideration to this process. Despite the difficulty that this process presents, there is no other place and no other people that I would choose to do this work with.