Budget meetings begin this week

By Terry Murry on Monday, April 18th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

UMATILLA COUNTY – For months, Umatilla County department heads have been putting together their budgets for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Now the process is speeding up. Commissioner George Murdock, who oversees the budget process, said that this week the volunteers on the Umatilla County Budget Committee will tackle the budget, item by item.

“It’s one of those three-inch, three-ring binders and it’s a huge document,” Murdock said. “We’ll be going through that department by department and each of our department heads will come in and tell what they’re up to, where they’re going, and what their vision is.”

Murdock said at this point in time the budget is balanced, noting that circumstances can occur that might change that.

“We have worked very, very hard in recent years to have a stable level of programs and services,” he said. “Historically the county has been up and down, and we’ve worked very hard to change that.”