Adams Co. commissioners approve 2026 budget
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months, 1 week AGO
The Adams County Board of Commissioners approved a $62.5 million budget for 2026.
COURTESY PHOT0/BOB BOWIE/UNSPLASH
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | December 26, 2025 3:00 AM
RITZVILLE — Adams County Commissioners approved a $62.5 million budget Tuesday, the last step in what commission chair Mike Garza said was a difficult job.
“It was a tough, drawn-out process,” Garza said. “I think we came up with something that’s as fair as it can be.”
Adams County is projected to finish 2026 with a carryover of about $24.8 million, about $1.7 million less than the carryover at the end of 2025. Garza said the county has limited revenues to pay for its operations and also must pay for things mandated by state officials, but not paid for by the state.
“We did make some cuts,” Garza said.
The commissioners’ goal, he said, was to balance spending with projected revenue.
“We’re trying to stay within our means,” he said.
The requests for cuts were based on the budgets of individual departments, he said. The departments with bigger budgets were asked to make relatively bigger cuts.
The county’s current expense fund was budgeted at $6.83 million and includes most county operations, including district and superior court; most departments, including the treasurer, prosecutor, assessor and the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, and the broadband project, which is projected to be completed in 2026.
There are separate funds for capital improvements, noxious weed eradication and economic development.
“It was trying to make the numbers work. That was the toughest part of this,” Garza said
To view the full budget proposal as approved, visit: https://bit.ly/ACWA2026
2026 Adams County budget
| Department | Cash Carryover 2025 | Revenue 2025 | Appropriations | Ending Cash 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Current expense |
|
|
|
|
Commission |
| $0 | $518,601 |
|
Superior Court |
| $35,000 | $458,513 |
|
District Court #1 |
| $332,187 | $457,261 |
|
District Court #2 |
| $265,329 | $648,413 |
|
Adult Probation |
| $123,539 | 112,416 |
|
Board of Equalization |
| $0 | $400 |
|
Auditor |
| $830,500 | $841,930 |
|
Clerk |
| $136,200 | $416,725 |
|
Treasurer |
| $10.4M | $495,713 |
|
Assessor |
| $0 | $573,480 |
|
Prosecutor |
| $305,781 | $1.2M |
|
Support Enforcement |
| $220,000 | $251,113 |
|
Civil Service |
| $0 | $2,150 |
|
Human Resources |
| $85,684 | $157,536 |
|
LEOFF |
| $0 | $46,200 |
|
Police operations |
| $395,243 | $3.4M |
|
Care and custody |
| $287,616 | $1.9M |
|
Juvenile |
| $136,088 | $695,950 |
|
Planning |
| $39,500 | $304,795 |
|
GIS |
| $0 | $152,236 |
|
Coroner |
| $19,000 | $197,768 |
|
WSU Extension |
| $0 | $203,157 |
|
Non-departmental |
| $808,308 | $1.8M |
|
Total Current Expense | $2.5M | $14.2M | $14.8M | $2M |
CE Reserve | $1.9M | $0 | $0 | $1.9M |
Solid Waste Hosting Fee | $180,933 | $180,000 | $200,000 | $160,933 |
CE Employee Liability Fund | $200,648 | $8,500 | $200,700 | $8,448 |
CE Juvenile Detention Alternative | $22,900 | $0 | $15,000
| $7,900 |
Jail Operations Reserve | $10,800 | $0 | $10,800 | $0 |
CJ Reserve | $184,500 | $7,000 | $191,500 | $0 |
Sheriff Donation Fund | $10,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 | $0 |
Broadband Fund | $0 | $6.2M | $6.2M | $0 |
Total Other CE Funds | $2.5M | $6.4M | $6.8M | $2.1M |
Other Funds |
|
|
|
|
Enhanced 911 | $49,992 | $1.5M | $1.1M | $406,766 |
E911 Reserve | $1.6M | $850,000 | $307,800 | $2.2M |
Integrated Health Care | $0 | $45M | $4.5M | $0 |
Public Safety | $1.6M | $850,000 | $882,392 | $1.6M |
Criminal Justice Sales Tax | $830,000 | $1.2M | $1.1M | $866,587 |
Emergency Services | $0 | $176,280 | $176,280 | $0 |
Veterans Relief | $169,671 | $50,000 | $92,000 | $127,671 |
Adams County Fair | $53,195 | $151,400 | $174,736 | $29,859 |
Law Library | $5,300 | 6,760 | $6,760 | 6,300 |
Paths and Trails | $263,000 | $20,500 | $55,000 | $228,500 |
Regional Landfill | $179,000 | $39,000 | $210,500 | $7,500 |
Building | $630,000 | $282,000 | $316,298 | $595,702 |
Treasurer O&M | $21,000 | $8,030 | $2,000 | $27,303 |
County Road | $5.7M | $19.2M | $19.9M | $5M |
Auditor O&M | $75,000 | $47,000 | $86,455 | $35,545 |
Trial Court Improvements | $139,000 | $40,000 | $0 | $179,000 |
Tourism Enhancement | $15,100 | $1,500 | $0 | %16,600 |
Economic Development | $2.5M | $560,000 | $281,400 | $2.7M |
Low-income housing | $660,200 | $140,000 | $140,000 | $660,200 |
Drug Enforcement | $32,000 | $12,000 | $34,700 | $9,300 |
RSO Address Verification | $29,039 | $52,000 | $81,039 | $0 |
ARPA | $54,119 | $0 | $40,000 | $14,119 |
Crime Victims Compensation | $266,000 | $11,080 | $0 | $277,080 |
Domestic Violence Prevention | $3,700 | $200 | $0 | $3,900 |
Domestic Violence Assessment | $10,871 | $60 | $0 | $10,931 |
Noxious Weed | $250,000 | $250,000 | $303,564 | $196,436 |
AC Debt Service | $54 | $0 | $0 | $54 |
Rodeo Lake | $45,000 | $4,000 | $47,000 | $2,000 |
Capital Improvement | $400,000 | $1.7M | $1.7M | $445,000 |
Capital Projects | $69,499 | $0 | $0 | $69,499 |
Real Estate Technology | $68,589 | $0 | $0 | $68,659 |
Real Estate Technology A | $83,160 | $8,000 | $22,000 | $69,160 |
EconDev Capital Development | $143,000 | $0 | $0 | $143,000 |
Solid Waste | $2.9M | $2.5M | $2.3M | $2.6M |
Broadband Operation | $30,000 | $160,000 | $161,583 | $28,417 |
Courthouse O&M | $35,000 | $875,000 | $902,102 | $7,898 |
Central Services | $191,000 | $400,226 | $793,376 | $197,850 |
IGS | $2.3M | $4.6M | $5M | $1.6M |
Total other funds | $21M | $40M | $40.7M | $20.7M |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Current Expense | $2.4M | $14.4M | $14.8M | $2M |
Current Expense Other Funds | $2.5M | $6.4M | $6.8M | $2M |
Other Funds | $21.5M | $39.9M | $40.7M | $20.7M |
Grand Total | $26.5M | $60.8M | $62.4M | $24.8M |
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