Lane County officials announced on May 6 a proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026–2027 that preserves essential services while addressing declining revenues through cost reductions and reallocations.
The proposal is significant as it seeks to maintain core public safety, health, and government operations despite ongoing financial constraints. The county faces decreasing state and federal funding along with one of Oregon’s lowest permanent property tax rates, which challenges its ability to provide a wide range of services.
“Sixty percent of Lane County’s budget has historically come from state or federal funding sources,” said Lane County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky. “As those revenues continue to shrink, and we face our perpetual challenge of one of the lowest permanent property tax rates in Oregon, we are seeing that percentage decrease which puts at risk our ability to offer a wide array of high-quality services to our community. As we worked to put together this year’s proposed budget, we conducted a thorough and thoughtful process to identify cost reductions and revenue enhancements that balance the budget while maintaining core services.”
The county’s $4.8 million in unallocated Transient Lodging Tax reserves will be used over two years to fund rural Sheriff’s Office patrols while seeking long-term solutions for public safety budgets. Mokrohisky said, “We believe that allocating a portion of unallocated TLT to support underfunded public safety is prudent, given the options available to us. We respect the concerns expressed by our tourism partners and I hope they can respect the balancing act that we are managing with regard to our public safety funding challenges in Lane County.” The proposed plan does not reduce tourism-related spending; more than $11.4 million remains allocated for these activities.
The General Fund directs nearly 76 percent toward public safety functions such as the Sheriff’s Office—where no service or staff cuts are planned—while other departments will see reductions totaling 15 full-time equivalent positions across several areas; nine currently filled roles will be eliminated.
According to the official website, Lane County provides essential public services including health programs, youth initiatives, elections administration, facility maintenance for government operations, and extends these supports across more than 4,600 square miles encompassing urban centers as well as rural and coastal communities throughout western Oregon.
The Budget Committee began reviewing the proposal on May 5 with additional meetings scheduled through mid-May before potential approval on May 20. The Board of Commissioners is expected to adopt the final budget in late June after further review.
