Island County braces for tough 2027 budget cuts and tradeoffs

Liability insurance climbed from $1.7 million in 2025 to $2.6 million in 2026 as Island County built the 2027 budget under severe cost pressure. Rising salaries, insurance bills, state mandates and unreliable outside funding have tightened the general fund, and the squeeze is already changing staffing decisions. The county faces choices between senior services, animal control, court defense and other core programs.

The county has frozen most hiring unless a position is deemed essential. That has already affected the Camano Island animal control officer slot, which was not refilled and drew criticism from residents over public safety, liability control and animal welfare. Melanie Bacon would prioritize Island Senior Resources over animal control if the county has to choose. The county recently added an employee in the coroner’s office after years without new staffing, for basic coverage.

Public defense is another major pressure point. The Washington Supreme Court issued an interim order on June 9, 2025, setting new indigent-defense caseload standards that will be phased in over time and reviewed after three years. The Washington State Bar Association began reviewing those standards in January 2022 and later proposed revisions in March 2024. Island County will face the added cost of court-appointed counsel and conflict attorneys, even as Washington is a national outlier in public-defense funding and counties carry heavy constitutional obligations.

Island County’s adopted 2026 budget was $164.7 million, including a $37.6 million current expense fund. Commissioners used a new one-tenth of 1% criminal-justice sales tax to help close that gap, but the levy was expected to bring in nearly $2 million a year and only about $1.4 million in 2026 because it did not begin producing revenue until April.