Cowlitz County Commissioners 's livestream

Cowlitz County Commissioners’ 2027 budget workshop, October 19, 2026, reviewed budgets for Superior Court, therapeutic courts, juvenile probation and detention, WSU Extension, and Corrections. No contract awards, bid approvals, or formal spending votes were recorded. Superior Court Administration proposed a budget about $120,000 below the OFM recommendation, including leaving vacant positions unfilled; therapeutic courts were about $69,056 below the recommendation. Judges asked the commissioners to consider opioid-settlement funding for therapeutic courts. Finance staff framed the potential allocation as the estimated $692,016 in expenses less about $107,500 in revenue—approximately $584,516 from opioid funds—but the board did not make a formal decision. Participants also discussed potentially combining municipal therapeutic-court programs, with a regional approach to be explored. Juvenile probation identified about $85,000 in additional BECCA grant revenue and vacancy-related savings; juvenile detention requested $46,300 above the OFM recommendation for costs including meals and required staff training, amid substantial IT-cost increases. The presiding judge proposed a time-limited, data-driven work group to evaluate right-sizing juvenile detention, regionalization, and other facility options.