First of Three Preliminary Budget Meetings: Emergency Management Says County Can’t Prepare For Disasters Without More Funding

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The first of three budget meetings to dig into the county’s 2021 preliminary budget was held Thursday, with departments presenting on shortfalls and challenges, and making their case for budget increases. 

Emergency Management, a department under public works, requested a $100,000 increase to its annual budget in order to expand operations and fill a position that’s currently frozen. Deputy Director Andy Caldwell described the department as not able to meet state standards without the extra funding.

“We have too many mandates, we have too many operations to operate as a two-person office,” he said. “It’s just not working.” 

According to Caldwell, Emergency Management is currently failing to conduct state-mandated exercises in which law, fire and medical personnel practice coordinating in the case of a disaster. The department is required to do one mass exercise every five years, and at least one tabletop exercise annually, Caldwell said. Without them, Caldwell worries that the county could be open to liability, and, more importantly, could be unprepared in the event of an emergency like a flood or active shooter.

“I don’t want to do it because it’s a mandate, I want to do it because it’s what’s best for the community,” he said. “We need to be exercising our essential service functions and making sure that when things go wrong we can rely on those essential service functions to maintain those important resources.”

Caldwell told commissioners that he had planned a mass casualty exercise for 2020, but even without the onset of the pandemic, “I don’t think we could’ve pulled it off.”

The department is also expecting Centralia to join the fold of the county’s emergency services, as several Lewis County towns have in the past. The state allows smaller emergency services departments to band together, something Caldwell said only makes an area’s emergency response stronger. But the move would mean more responsibility for the county’s department — something Caldwell cited in his argument for increased funding. 

“I hate to count my chickens before they hatch … but I don’t see any problems coming up,” he said of Centralia joining the department.

The approaching retirement of the department’s only other staffer may put a strain on their budget as well, Caldwell said, citing retirement benefits expenditures. 



The Southwest Washington Fairgrounds also presented its request for approximately $268,000. After canceling the fair this year, they saw significant revenue loss. In 2019, the fair generated over $700,000 — this year, the grounds generated about 10 percent of that. Fair manager Tamara Hayes is budgeting for a full non-pandemic fair next year.

“But the reality is we don’t know what’s going to happen come the Spring, so we don’t know if we’re going to have a fair,” Hayes said. 

County Clerk Scott Tinney and representatives from district court presented on their preliminary budgets, although neither requested additional funds. 

Tinney, whose office handles fees for superior court, reported that the pandemic curbed up to half of civil lawsuit filings, leading to notable revenue loss. His office also stopped conducting passport services for health reasons, as the process generally involves prolonged exposure.  The move cut off “a huge stream of revenue,” he said. 

District Court Judge R. W. Buzzard and administrator Brittni Rogers reported similar losses, saying April was the worst month, where close to $100,000 of revenue was lost due to health restrictions limiting court operations. Since then, revenue has been recovering.

County officials, including commissioners, were aware of these revenue losses earlier this year, and took them into account while formulating the quarterly budget adjustment for 2020.

Preliminary budget meetings are for departments to present and request funding, rather than for county commissioners to discuss or make decisions. Commissioners will make decisions on the 2021 preliminary budget in November. The next preliminary budget meeting is Oct. 14.