These notes were taken by an Okanogan County Watch volunteer. Every attempt is made to be accurate. Notes are verbatim when possible, and otherwise summarized or paraphrased.
Note takers comments or clarifications are in italics. These notes are not the official county record of the meeting. For officially approved minutes, which are normally published at a later time, CLICK HERE.
The time stamps refer to the times on the AV Capture archive of the meeting on this date at the County livestream archive. To locate items in real time, the clock on the wall in the AV Capture screen can be helpful.
02.18.2026 Wed AM BOCC
Meeting Highlights:
The BOCC called a meeting of all the elected officials and department heads to discuss the 2027 budget. To balance the budget, they must either cut $3,000,000 from the 2026 budget, find an additional $3,000,000 in revenue or use a combination of cuts and revenue increases. The commissioners want to make sure that county employees along with county residents understand the situation.
Remedies being considered include:
Attrition (not replacing employees who leave their jobs)
Lay-offs
Forgoing raises for some employees but requiring only a 36-hour work week
A sales tax increase to be used for public safety, including the Sheriff’s Office, the courts and the Public Defenders’ Office. This would require voter approval.
A levy lid lift. This would also require voter approval.*
The commissioners asked the attendees to brainstorm with staff to try to come up with additional ideas. They should report back to the commissioners within 30 days.
You can watch the meeting here. The budget discussion begins at 9:32, about 35 minutes into the video. (You may have to expand the video to full screen to be able to read the clock on the far side of the meeting room.)
*At 9:58, County Assessor Larry Gilman explains levy lid lifts and the relationship between the assessed value of a parcel and the taxes assessed on it.