💵 County Reallocates Federal Funds, Eyes 2026 Priorities - Skamania BOCC 10/14 Recap

🏛 Skamania County Board of Commissioners – October 14, 2025

Highlights: Budget amendments, wildfire prevention coordination, and next year’s state legislative priorities dominated discussion this week.

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💰 Supplemental Budget #3 & LATCF Reallocations

Commissioners held a public hearing on Supplemental Budget #3 for 2025, approving $107,248 in adjustments to cover expenses in departments lacking offsetting revenue. Most of the additional funding went to the Public Defender’s Office, which faced a backlog of legal costs from late 2024.

The board also approved Resolution 2025-23, reallocating the county’s remaining Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF), federal dollars originally paired with ARPA relief funds, to long-term needs:

• $2.5 million for county insurance premiums
• $700,000 for software replacements and upgrades
• $807,654 for building maintenance and ADA compliance
• $35,310 to Senior Services to match grants for two new minivans

⚖️ Why Legal Costs Are Rising for Small Counties

Most of the supplemental funding this week went to the Public Defender’s Office, which was catching up on late 2024 invoices for court-appointed attorneys and expert witnesses.

When the county’s public defender must step aside due to a conflict of interest, private attorneys are hired at hourly rates set by the state. Several serious cases last fall required multiple outside counsel, mental health evaluations, and transcription work for appeals, all of which came due after the 2025 budget was adopted.

Rural counties like Skamania have little control over how many cases arrive or how complex they are, but they’re legally required to provide defense for everyone charged. Commissioners said they’ll raise the issue in Olympia next session, seeking higher state reimbursement for mandated costs.

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🌲 PUD Vegetation Management Grant

Late in the session, commissioners discussed a letter of support for Skamania PUD’s vegetation and field management grant applications, tied to wildfire mitigation.
Commissioner Brian Nichols suggested adding language encouraging coordination with the county’s forthcoming Community Wildfire Protection Plan, so that both efforts align. Commissioner Robert Farris noted recent complaints about overzealous spraying, urging a “gentle reminder” to include community input in vegetation planning.

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💧 Underwood Water Source Project

The board’s legislative priorities discussion revisited Underwood’s water infrastructure, with staff confirming a renewed $600,000 request to the state capital budget for improved water storage and redundancy on the drier west side of the county. The project previously failed to receive funding but remains a top advocacy item for the 2026 session.

The request, $600,000 through the Washington Department of Commerce’s Community Capital Facilities program, would fund:

• A new 250,000-gallon storage reservoir to improve reliability during drought or emergencies.
• Upgraded piping and pressure zones to stabilize service for higher-elevation households.
• Preliminary engineering and environmental review to prepare for a future larger replacement project.

💧 How to Support Underwood’s Water Project

Underwood’s water system is due for upgrades, and the county is again requesting $600,000 from Washington’s 2026 state capital budget to improve storage and pressure on the west side of the mountain.

The project would add a new 250,000-gallon reservoir, modernize pipes, and strengthen the system for both household use and wildfire readiness. A similar request failed last biennium, but this version includes updated engineering and stronger community backing.

Here’s how residents can help:

• 📨 Write a short letter of support to local legislators asking them to fund the Underwood Water Infrastructure Project.
  • Senator Paul Harris (R)
    📧 paul.harris@leg.wa.gov
    📞 (360) 786-7976
  • Representative Kevin Waters (R, Position 1)
    📧 kevin.waters@leg.wa.gov
    📞 (360) 786-7850
  • Representative David Stuebe (R, Position 2)
    📧 david.stuebe@leg.wa.gov
    📞 (360) 786-7974
• 🏛 Attend future BOCC briefings to stay involved.
• 💬 Share your experience with pressure or outage issues, the urgency of water access during the Tunnel 5 fire and more. County staff are collecting community stories to strengthen the funding case.

Together, residents can help make the case that reliable water is a matter of safety, resilience, and fairness for Underwood’s growing community.

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🏛 State Affairs & Legislative Workshop

In a workshop with Katie Whittier, vice president of Washington State Affairs for CFM, commissioners reviewed early legislative priorities for 2026. Topics included:

• Forest and wildfire resilience funding (especially fuel reduction and grant programs)
• Transportation needs on Highway 14 and rural access routes
• Support for broadband and local workforce initiatives
  Whittier described the 2026 session as likely to be “lean” due to state revenue slowdowns after pandemic-era surpluses, noting that many newer legislators “have only ever served during years of plenty” and may struggle to adjust to tighter budgets.

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🚧 Upcoming Hearings

The board scheduled public hearings for:

• The 2026–2031 Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan
• The 2026 Preliminary Budget

Also adopted were resolutions to update the Community Action Plan, post bridge weight restrictions, and establish legal holidays for 2026.

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🗓 Join the Next County Commissioners Meeting

💻 When: Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 9:30 AM
🏛 Where: Skamania County Courthouse, Room 18 (Stevenson)
🌐 Online: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88906321210
📞 Call-in: (346) 248-7799 | Meeting ID: 889 0632 1210

🗣 Public Comment:
Send written comments by noon on Monday, Oct. 20 to
📧 commiss@co.skamania.wa.us.
Comments received on time are acknowledged and entered into the record.

🗂 Agendas & Packets:
Available at skamaniacounty.org