PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County finance department has reduced the budget deficit the county is facing for 2026 from $3.258 million to less than $1 million.
During the Clallam County commissioners’ work session Monday, commissioners were told during a presentation of the draft budget that the finance department was able to get the deficit down to $893,000.
For that to happen, the department identified $2.367 million in revenue gains, including a one-time gain of $549,000 from Dungeness Off-Channel Reservoir and Carlsborg Water Mitigation transfers and the sale of surplus property valued at about $200,000.
Expenditure reductions of $1.437 million also were identified, including a one-time reduction of $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds being reobligated to personnel costs and a reduction of $193,000 in risk management allocation.
The addition of revenue gains and expenditure reductions were identified after county administrator Todd Mielke presented his budget on Oct. 6.
The next step in the budgeting process is the Clallam County property tax levy certification, which is slated to occur during the commissioners’ meeting on Nov. 25.
Doc Holliday sale
During the work session, commissioners also heard from Connie Beauvais, the chair of the county’s Revenue Advisory Committee (RAC), regarding the committee’s recommendation on the Doc Holliday timber sale.
“As chair of the committee, I took it upon myself, after being familiar with all the presentations, to put a recommendation forth to the committee for consideration, and they did take action and voted unanimously to continue to support the sale as has been approved,” Beauvais said.
The RAC was asked to explore what the economic ramifications for the county would be if 46.5 acres of the Doc Holliday timber sale were placed into conservation through the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
“We do not believe this proposal falls within the very narrow decision space DNR has in this regard,” Beauvais said. “I think the circumstances of this request be compliant with DNR’s fiduciary duties to the various beneficiaries of the Doc Holliday timber sale.”
After discussion on the matter, the commissioners agreed that commissioner Randy Johnson would draft a letter to DNR reflecting the commission’s continued support of the sale going forward as approved.
Dump site
Commissioners also heard from Public Works project coordinator Rhiana Barkie, who updated them on the cleanup effort of an illegal dump site on the southern end of land the county purchased for the Dungeness Off-Channel Reservoir.
“The site was owned by DNR for decades and illegal dumping appears to have occurred largely between the 1920s to 1950s, though some of the garbage removed was from recent decades,” Barkie said.
Some of the dumping included broken-down vehicles which had trees growing through them, she said.
Soil and groundwater samples were taken to determine what possible contaminants existed, and Barkie said the pollution levels were just barely above the mandatory cleanup levels.
Cleanup of the site began in July and cost more than $300,000, which was mostly covered by grants. Crews removed 37.62 tons of recyclable debris from the site along with 2.64 tons of non-recyclable debris and soil, and 82.96 tons of excavated soil.
More than 93 cubic yards of topsoil was imported to the site.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
