Jefferson commissioners consider new draft for refuge legislation

Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 16, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — More work needs to be done on a letter regarding the proposed transfer of national wildlife refuges before the Jefferson County commissioners will be willing to sign it.

The commissioners returned to their conversation Monday on the proposed federal legislation titled the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Land Transfer Act of 2026. If approved, the act would transfer the Dungeness Spit and Protection Island national wildlife refuges into trust for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe.

The tribe has asked the commissioners to send a letter of support for the legislation to U.S. Rep. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Edmonds. The commissioners have been hearing public comments against the land transfer and also have heard a presentation from the tribe explaining the transfer proposal.

After receiving so much input on the matter, the commissioners were not ready Monday to sign a letter in support or in opposition to the proposed legislation.

Commissioner Heather Dudley-Nollette questioned whether the draft the commissioners have is truly representative of the people of Jefferson County, based on everything the commissioners have heard.

Commissioner Greg Brotherton pointed out that the commissioners have been elected to represent the interests of Jefferson County and to make decisions.

“It’s hard to let go of things, but I think finding the path that is going to preserve the wonder and the important ecosystem resource that is Protection Island is what will honor the work of Eleanor Stopps and others in this room the most,” Brotherton said. “I guess I’m not convinced as the federal administration has rolled back protections on 86 million acres in the United States right now that our federal government is going to have Protection Island’s best interests at heart.”

The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe has been in a co-management agreement of the refuges for nearly two years now. The commissioners have heard from many people that the co-management agreement is working. Brotherton said he believes that collaboration will continue and that he hasn’t heard anything to make him believe otherwise.

“We can’t effectively govern Jefferson County if we just do a poll on everything and what we get more votes on is the path we take,” he said. “That’s not actual governance.”

Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour feels like she’s “in the middle of the teeter-totter,” she said.

“I feel like there’s more for a letter than the letter we have drafted,” Eisenhour said. “… I feel like there are better points that we could add to this letter at this point. And I’m happy to take another crack at it.”

The commissioners did not state when the revised version of the letter would be discussed.

Budget workshop

Monday’s meeting also saw the first workshop in the 2027 budgeting process.

Jefferson County is facing a projected $900,000 shortfall in sales tax, even including revenue the county is generating with a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax for law and justice enhancement, which brought in $63,000 in June, Finance Director Judy Shepherd said.

The county’s current deficit is at $1.13 million, which is slightly up from the previous figure of $1.18 million, Shepherd said.

A wildcard for the county’s finances is the Parks & Recreation levy lid lift, which is on the primary ballot for Aug. 4.

Another wildcard is that the county has four collective bargaining agreements that are set to expire this year and will need to be negotiated.

If the levy lid lift passes, the 2026 revised budget deficit would go from $1.086 million up to a 2027 projected budget surplus of $33,803. If it doesn’t pass, that deficit is expected to expand in 2027 to $1.197 million, according to one scenario Shepherd presented. Shepherd called that scenario the “status quo.”

A second scenario would have an expenditure reduction of $1 million to change the 2026 revised budget deficit to a 2027 projected budget surplus of $182,429.

The county provides 334 state-mandated services, 45 percent of which are either fully or partially funded by grants or other specific, dedicated funding, according to Shepherd’s presentation. The county also chooses to provide 100 discretionary services, 64 percent of which are either fully funded or partially funded by grants or dedicated funding.

Each department in the county already has been “cut to the bone,” Brotherton said while asking if that means the county will have to make decisions about what services to no longer offer.

“So it could be a combination of those two things,” Shepherd said. “It could be a combination of reducing staffing hours. There’s different things that could help to maybe get us there, but the idea is to try to create something that is sustainable.”

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.