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Public encouraged to watch, provide feedback
Clackamas County’s annual Budget Hearings begin this coming Tuesday, May 28. These hearings are a critical component to establishing the forthcoming Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget for Clackamas County and the many service districts/agencies that it oversees.
All budget information – including the budget message, departmental budget presentations, the Zoom link and more – can be found online.
The schedule is as follows, with all sessions starting at 8:30 a.m. Please note that times listed are approximate and may change, depending on the length of individual presentations.
Tuesday, May 28
- Districts and Agencies (8:30 a.m.): Committee meetings kick off with budget presentations of the eight service districts/agencies that Clackamas County oversees, including: Clackamas Water Environment Services, Development Agency, Enhanced Law Enforcement District, Housing Authority of Clackamas County, Library Services District, North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District, Extension and 4-H Service District, and Street Lighting District #5. Following each presentation, a public comment period time will be offered.
- Clackamas County Budget Message (3:30 p.m.): The annual message delivered by Gary Schmidt, County Administrator and Budget Officer. Included is the county budget overview and proposed budget. The message is given to the Clackamas County Budget Committee, made up of the five members of the Board of County Commissioners and five members of the public.
Wednesday, May 29
- Clackamas County Operating Budget (8:30 a.m.): Office and department budgets are presented to the Clackamas County Budget Committee.
- Public Testimony/Hearing (6 p.m.): The public is invited to provide comment to the Budget Committee about the proposed budget. Participation options are outlined below.
Thursday, May 30
- Deliberation (8:30 a.m.): Once the proposed budget has been presented and the public has commented during the public testimony time, the members of the county’s Budget Committee begin their deliberation. Committee members may accept, reject or modify the proposed budget. State law dictates that the county’s budget must be balanced. The budget is approved by the committee when a majority of the committee members vote in support of the agreed upon budget.
About the budget process
Each district/agency, and the county overall, have unique budget committees made up of the five county commissioners and five members of the public. The Housing Authority of Clackamas County’s budget is reviewed by its board, which is comprised of the five commissioners and one member of the public.
Once the county’s overall approved budget is completed at the end of these proceedings, that budget then goes to the Board of County Commissioners weeks later, currently scheduled for June 20, 2024. The board may accept, reject or modify the approved budget. The county’s finalized budget goes into effect on July 1, 2024.
Public comment
Public feedback and community participation are important to establish budgets. Each service district/authority meeting features a public testimony/hearing period following the end of the individual presentation. The county’s overall Budget Committee will take public comment starting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29. Those wishing to provide comment will be prompted by the facilitator to speak when it is their turn.
- Virtual Viewing: For members of the public that would like to view the meetings, but not participate, #ClackCo TV will live stream the meetings on YouTube.
- In-Person Attendance: All budget meetings, and the public testimony sessions, will be held in person in the Board Hearing Room (4th Floor, Public Service Building, 2051 Kaen Road, Oregon City). All members of the public visiting the Public Service Building are required to sign in at the front desk of the lobby. Those wishing to provide comment at the end of any service district/agency meeting, or during the public testimony for the overall county budget, will be told how to do so at those meetings. Public comment is not taken for the overall county budget outside of the public comment period, until a budget hearing is held when the Board of County Commissioners considers the budget for adoption later in June.
- Virtual comments: Members of the public wishing to provide comments virtually over Zoom for service districts/agencies at the end of each one’s presentation, or during the overall county budget public testimony on Wednesday night, may do so over Zoom. Stakeholders will be told how to provide testimony during those meetings. The Zoom platform allows the public to provide live comments over computers or the phone. A single Zoom link for all meetings can be found near the top of Budget Presentation webpage.
- Emailed Public Comments: The public has the option of submitting comments via email to bcc@clackamas.us. Those submissions will not be read aloud during the public comment periods, but will be sent to the relevant committee members and added to the record. Please email public comments with the Subject Line of either “County Budget public comment” or “[Service District/Agency Name] public comment.” Parties should include their name and area of residence.