Tuesday Budget Workshop 10/6/2026

The Cowlitz County Commissioners held a Tuesday budget workshop on October 6, 2026, including a first review of the 2027–2032 six-year transportation improvement program. Public Works estimated a six-year program of about $147 million and approximately $9.8 million in 2027 work, including $3.4 million for preliminary engineering, $365,000 for right-of-way, and about $6.1 million for construction. The 2027 construction list includes the FEMA-funded Pleasant Hill Road culvert replacement ($2.15 million, with $125,000 in local funds), Allender Road culvert replacement (about $3.6 million, with 85% funding from the Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board), and other bridge, culvert, roadway, and drainage projects. Mill Creek Bridge No. 1 is in the consultant procurement phase. Commissioners were told construction contracts require competitive bidding and award to the lowest bidder; emergency procedures could be used if a road failure requires urgent work. No vote or program adoption occurred at this first viewing.

The workshop also covered preliminary property-tax estimates for 2027 and county finances. Staff recommended using available 1% levy capacity, banked capacity, and new-construction revenue, and separating veterans’ assistance and mental-health services levies from the general-fund levy. Commissioners indicated support for the new-construction component and separating those levies, while deferring a decision on banked capacity pending review of a levy-impact tool; no final levy action was taken. Discussion also addressed rising general-fund expenditures, road-fund funding, and how state fish-passage standards and permitting requirements could affect future culvert projects and costs.