Cowlitz County finance staff told commissioners that intergovernmental revenues and planned ARPA transfers for capital projects depend on the timing of project work, and the county will adjust budgets if expenditures and project starts move into 2026.

Finance staff said intergovernmental revenue lines — federal and state grants — can be mismatched with actual expenditure timing if projects are delayed. “If any projects are being pushed to 2026, those transfers will be pushed as well,” a finance presenter said. Staff noted that some grant programs include multi-year obligation and construction windows and that extensions can be requested where allowable.

Susan Eugenia (finance/public works) and Cathy Baxter, the finance director, discussed standard grant timing rules: for certain grants there are obligation windows (for example, five years for particular federal programs as described by Baxter) and agencies such as WSDOT and other grantors may require staged obligation and construction timelines. Baxter urged regular billing and compliance to maintain awarded funds, and said grants are not typically rescinded if the county is actively billing and meeting milestone dates; deadlines and contract terms must be observed.

Staff said they will monitor intergovernmental revenue and may seek quarter-4 budget amendments to align budgeted amounts with year-to-date actuals if revenue recognition changes.

No new grants were awarded during the meeting; the item was a budget monitoring and planning update rather than a new appropriation.