OLYMPIA, Wash. — Thurston County commissioners are confronting a nearly $10-million deficit for the 2026-27 budget years, potentially forcing agency heads to implement significant cuts.
The County Clerk’s Office faces among the steepest reductions, at a proposed 13.4%.
County Clerk Linda Myhre Enlow said that would eliminate eight positions, including staff who work as domestic violence survivor advocates. She warned the cuts could have deadly consequences for vulnerable residents who get assistance filling out protection order paperwork and are helped through the court process.
“I suspect there will be a lot of denials, because there won’t be enough information in that petition for the court to make a good decision,” Myhre Enlow said, adding that survivors could leave the courthouse “with no protection” and face “potential abuse, further abuse, up and into including, I hate to say it, but death.”
The proposed cuts would also eliminate front desk positions.
Other county departments are also facing reductions, though less severe.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is looking at 3.9% cuts, while the County Auditor faces almost 5.7% in potential reductions.
County Commission Chair Tye Menser attributed the deficit to multiple factors.
“We’re seeing flat sales tax,” Menser said. “We’re seeing lower than normal construction activity. We are seeing the federal relief money, the post-Covid Federal leave money is gone, has been used.”
Menser noted the Clerk’s Office has been fully funded, but understaffed for years, particularly since the pandemic. He explained the sheriff’s office received smaller cuts because voters recently approved a tax increase for law enforcement.
The budget proposal includes a 0.1 percent sales tax hike to help offset other cuts, said Menser.
The budget is still going through the public comment process.
County commissioners are expected to pass it by mid-December.
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