- How much is the 2009-2010 budget?
- What are the county's priorities?
- What are the major issues facing the county?
- Where does the county get money to provide public services?
- Where do property taxes go?
- How much of the property tax paid by a citizen living in an unincorporated area goes to the county?
- What is the General Fund?
- What does the county spend money on?
- Where does the majority of the county budget go?
- How much of the budget is spent on salaries?
- How many staff are employed by the county employ?
- What are the county's budget objectives?
- What is the financial condition of the county?
- How is the budget developed?
- When and how is the budget adopted?
- What opportunity do people have to influence the county budget?
- How is the county organized?
1. How much is the 2009-2010 budget?
The 2009-2010 budget is $954.2 million. View the Budget in Brief (PDF 16K).
2. What are the county’s priorities?
The functions of county government are largely determined by state statute. Community priorities shape how these services are delivered. The framework for delivery of services has been identified by the Board of County Commissioners and other elected officials as:
Partnering with citizens to maintain and enhance:
- Safe Communities
- Economic Stability
- Mutual Respect
The Strategic Planning (PDF184K) section provides detailed information about the county’s goals and challenges. Department goals and current issues are included in the Functions (PDF 91K) section.
3. What are the major issues facing the county?
Our population continues to increase by about 10,000 people each year, roughly the size of the City of Battle Ground. Increasing population and urbanization will continue to challenge the county’s ability to pay for needed services with existing sources of revenue. Learn more about the county's challenges (PDF 184K) in achieving its goals.
4. Where does the county get money to provide public services?
The county gets revenue from a variety of sources.
- Local and state sources include property taxes, sales taxes, real estate excise taxes, fuel taxes, and other taxes such as the gambling tax and the timber tax.
- State and federal revenues are mainly grants from the state and federal governments.
- Private sources include permit fees, court fines, payments for licenses, maps and other goods and services.
Learn more about county revenue in the Revenue Analysis (PDF 225K).
5. Where do property taxes go?
Like other counties, Clark County collects and distributes all the property taxes levied by government bodies within the county's boundaries. But not all the property taxes collected remain within the county; only a portion pays for county programs.
If you live in an unincorporated area of Clark County, county government typically accounts for about one-third of your property tax bill. If you're a city resident, Clark County's portion is about one-eighth of your bill. Other entities that depend heavily on property taxes are school districts and city governments.
Here's how property tax is allocated for county residents:
- State and local school support 57%
- Libraries 3%
- Fire Districts, Ports and EMS 15%
- County (including Road Fund) 25%
6. How much of the property tax paid by a citizen living in an unincorporated area goes to the county?
About 25 percent of your property taxes come to the county for county services. The majority - 57 percent - goes to state and local school support.
7. What is the General Fund?
The General Fund contains non-restricted funds that can be spent for a wide range of services. It is the only part of the county budget where the commissioners have discretion about spending. It pays for many of the key services that residents receive from the county such as Sheriff’s patrols, judges, prosecutors, jails, courts, elections and parks. Learn more about the General Fund. (PDF 107K)
8. What does the county spend its money on?
Every time you drive down the road, visit a park, vote in an election, or see deputies protecting our community, your tax dollars are hard at work.
Clark County funds services in nine major areas including Public Works, Law and Justice, Community Services, General Government, Public Health, Community Development. Internal Support, Fiscal Entities and Capital and Debt. View the Expenditure Analysis (PDF 76K) or Functions (PDF 91K) section for more information.
9. Where does the majority of the county budget go?
The big three service areas include:
- Public Works with a two-year budget of $258,851,546.
- Law and Justice at $197,937,097.
- Community Services at $152,198,982.
10. How much of the budget is spent on salaries?
$307,477,090 of the total budget - or 32.2 percent - is for salary and benefits.
11. How many staff are employed by the county?
The staff authorized by the commissioners for 2009-2010 is 1,750.80. The largest employer is the Sheriff with 422.5 full-time employees.
12. What are the county’s budget objectives?
The county’s budget objectives are to:
- Support the priorities of long-range and operational plans.
- Ensure growth in programs is consistent with projected revenues.
- Maintain a stable and healthy financial foundation.
- Respond to critical service demands, and community priorities.
- Support the priorities of the Capital Improvement Plan.
More about the county’s goals and objectives can be found in the Strategic Planning (PDF 184K) section.
13. What is the financial condition of the county?
The budget for the 2007-2008 biennium shows that the county is in good financial condition. This is due to strong spending controls the Board has had in place for the last decade, followed by substantial economic growth related to record levels of new construction. In addition, the county has benefited from growth in sales tax revenue as consumers have taken advantage of the increasing diversity and convenience of shopping close to home. View the Executive Summary (PDF 20K) for a brief overview of the county’s financial condition. More detailed information is available in the Financial Overview. (PDF 107K)
14. How is the budget developed?
State law establishes the general requirements of Clark County’s budget process. By law, many revenues must be spent in specific ways. This limits how we can spend or cut costs to balance our budget.
The Budget Office facilitates development of the budget. All department heads and elected officials develop and submit their budget requests by early September in the first year of the biennium (even numbered years). After their requests are reviewed, the County Administrator recommends a budget to the Board of Clark County Commissioners (BOCC) in early November. From there the BOCC holds hearings to adopt a budget. The Departments' original budget requests as well as the County Administrator's recommended budgets are published. The Auditor's Office maintains legal responsibility and authority for overseeing and controlling the expenditure of money once it has been budgeted by the Commissioners. Learn more about the budget process. (PDF 184K)
15. When and how is the budget adopted?
Each even numbered year, the commissioners adopt a biennial budget for the following two-year period by the end of the first full week in December. Public hearings begin on Monday and adoption occurs no later than Friday of that week. Before the end of the first year of the biennium, the commissioners re-adopt the budget.
16. What opportunity do people have to influence the county budget?
The Budget Office provides information throughout the year on the budget, uses public surveys and focus groups and uses meetings to involve citizens in shaping the budget. Contact us at (360) 397-6097 or e-mail lisa.boman@clark.wa.gov to get involved.
17. How is the county organized?
The voters of Clark County elect 25 officials, including 3 County Commissioners, 10 Superior Court Judges, 6 District Court Judges, an Assessor, a Treasurer, an Auditor, a Prosecuting Attorney, a Sheriff and a County Clerk.
The Board of Commissioners appoints a County Administrator, who acts as the chief administrative officer for the county. Reporting directly to the County Administrator are the heads of 11 non-elected departments: Budget, Community Development, Community Planning, Community Services, Public Health, General Services, Human Resources, Medical Examiner, Public Information and Outreach, and Public Works. Learn more about the county's organization and responsibilities. (PDF 834K)
