ALBANY, Ore. — At their June 23 meeting Linn County Commissioners Roger Nyquist, Sherrie Sprenger and Will Tucker, recognized Michelle Hawkins for her 26 years as the county budget officer.
New Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Stanaway will take over as the county budget officer on July 1. Hawkins will continue as county treasurer until her retirement at the end of October.
Hawkins completed 26 years as budget officer — also serving as assistant budget officer for several years — and will have served 31 years with the county upon her retirement.
Board Chair Nyquist said the county has greatly streamlined the annual budget process during Hawkins’ tenure. When he was first elected to the board, budgeting could take more than two weeks and include some big cuts in waning hours to balance things out. Today, the annual budget hearings are held over four days.
Nyquist said that the process has improved because county staff — both department heads and elected officials — work as a team. He added that Hawkins has created a process that provides budget guidance several months ahead of the hearings and that includes providing budget makers with long-term financial guidance.
Nyquist also praised Hawkins for her work assisting local businesses during the Covid 19 pandemic and with assisting families who were displaced by the Labor Day fires in the Santiam Canyon in September 2020.
Nyquist noted that Linn County provided grants to local businesses that were struggling financially due to the shutdowns imposed during the Covid 19 pandemic. Hawkins worked with local chambers of commerce to gather the names of businesses in need and disburse grants quickly.
That funding kept many small businesses alive, Nyquist said.
She did the same thing to help families affected by the Lionshead/Beachie Creek fires that ravaged the north canyon area.
Linn County residents and businesses donated tens of thousands of dollars to help their neighbors and within 24 hours, Hawkins was distributing checks.
“A family could make an application one day and have a check the next day,” Nyquist said.
Hawkins said that for more than a week, she crisscrossed Linn and Marion counties, paying for motel rooms to house families.
Commissioner Tucker thanked Hawkins for her support of military families and for spearheading the move away from cash or check only payments in county offices. Linn County residents can now use credit cards for many of their transactions.
Commissioner Sprenger said she had many questions when she was first elected to local office, but Hawkins was always willing to answer them.
“She has an orange binder that explains why we do things in a certain way,” Sprenger said.
The commissioners also adopted the last budget under Hawkins’ guidance, totaling $298,773,964 for the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year. The General Fund tax rate will be $1.2736 per $1,000 of property valuation. The Law Enforcement Levy will be for $3.08 per $1,000 property valuation.
In other business, the commissioners:
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Approved an amendment to extend a Special Use Permit for the Linn County Parks & Recreation to operate 26 Forest Service campgrounds in the Willamette National Forest from five years to 30 years.
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Were told there were 21 Linn County youth held at the Detention Center in May. The average length of stay was 7.83 days. There also were eight youth from Benton County held for 8.5 days and one youth from Lincoln County held for four days. There were 49 referrals in May and there are 198 young people in the Probation Unit. The victims advocate made 116 contacts.
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Announced that the Board of Commissioners will not meet on Tuesday, June 30.
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Adjourned the regular Board meeting and convened the 4-H and Extension Service District Board. A 2026-2027 budget of $967,823 was approved.
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Updated and approved the county fees schedule for FY 2026-2027.
Media contact: Alex Paul, Linn County Communications Officer, 541-967-3825 or email apaul [at] co.linn.or.us (apaul[at]co[dot]linn[dot]or[dot]us).