The Yamhill County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 11 voted unanimously to approve draft budget instructions for fiscal year 2027 after a detailed presentation from budget officer Ken Hoefer.

Hoefer told the board he projects a total general fund for FY 2027 of $36,635,004.16 and said he used current‑year trends and a conservative 3 percent revenue assumption to make the projection. "I'm projecting total general fund... $36,635,004.16," he said during the presentation.

Hoefer highlighted several revenue components and risks. He flagged a new annual SIP payment tied to Hampton Lumber and related community service fees budgeted at just over $400,000 and said some tax lines (amusement, cigarette, alcohol, marijuana) are more variable year to year. He warned about unknowns from several expiring collective bargaining agreements and rising medical insurance costs, and said those factors informed a cautious approach to budgeting.

To preserve an operational reserve and reduce risk, Hoefer recommended a 0 percent across‑the‑board increase to discretionary allocations for departments while proposing modest targeted reductions in some areas. He also proposed a new starter allocation of $125,000 for dog control, saying, "I'm proposing a $125,000 as a starter," to begin planning staffing and operations for animal control.

Hoefer described how he reviewed beginning and audited balances to identify where departments may have recurring vacancy savings and proposed a $35,000 partial rollback of a prior add‑back to the district attorney's discretionary allocation to better align budgeted and audited balances. Overall, Hoefer said his package results in an $85,000 net reduction to discretionary allocations compared with the current fiscal year after adding the dog control allocation.

The board discussed the timing and calendar for the budget process. Hoefer outlined a schedule that includes department budget submissions in January, budget team review and version rollovers in March, budget committee meetings April 20–22, a final budget hearing scheduled for June 11 and budget adoption targeted for June 18.

Chair moved the motion to approve Hoefer's draft budget instructions; the board recorded three ayes and approved the motion unanimously. Hoefer said departments may bring add‑back requests during the budget process for further deliberation by the budget committee.

The budget officer and commissioners emphasized the year will require close management of personnel and insurance costs, given multiple expiring contracts and pressure on reserves. Hoefer said staff will continue refining revenue and expense estimates as bargaining and insurance renewals progress.

What's next: departments will receive the approved budget instructions in early January, begin entering budgets into the county's Oracle EPM system, and return to the board and budget committee through the established April–June schedule.