New Deschutes County 2025-26 budget preps for five-member board, building youth mental health care facility

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners has unanimously adopted the budget for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 26), following a series of budget committee hearings held in May.

The total revised FY 26 budget, excluding Service Districts, is $658.7 million, which represents a modest 0.3% increase from the FY 25 revised budget. It was developed under a collaborative budget strategy that limited the growth of County expenditures and prioritized savings. The strategy allowed the County to identify $2.5 million in savings within the General Fund.

“I am incredibly proud of the hard work of our staff and elected and appointed officials who made difficult decisions to help us realign County expenditures with incoming revenues,” said Deschutes County Administrator Nick Lelack in a news release. “Through this budget, we have built a strong foundation for structurally balanced budgets for years to come.”

The FY 26 budget underscores the County’s commitment to providing essential services and public safety while navigating economic challenges, such as a widening gap between General Fund expenditures and revenues, rising personnel costs, inflation and federal funding changes.

Notwithstanding the fiscal pressures, the FY 26 budget allocates funding for an additional Deputy District Attorney, which is crucially needed to help manage a substantial and growing caseload.

The budget also includes funding a variety of important projects and initiatives, including:

• Preparing for a five-member Board of Commissioners, with two new members taking office in January of 2027
• Facilitating a citizen committee to propose Board of Commissioner districts and a ballot initiative for voters to decide during the 2026 election cycle
• Reconvening the Solid Waste Advisory Committee to identify a location for a future county landfill or solid waste solution
• Initiating the process of building a mental healthcare facility specifically for youth in Central Oregon
• Continuing to develop the County Deflection Program with initiatives that promote drug education, addiction treatment and recovery
• Working in partnership with the City of Bend to support the houseless population in a Temporary Stay Safe Area at Juniper Ridge
• Completing and making significant progress on transportation projects in Terrebonne and Sunriver

To find more County budget information, visit deschutes.org/budget.