Washoe County Financial Update February 2026

by | Mar 4, 2026

Washoe County Photo

FY27 Outlook

There have been no quantifiable material changes compared with the January 27, 2026, information presented to the Board of County Commissioners. Some data points on key information the Budget Division monitors are:​

  • FY26 year-to-date General Fund financials are trending as expected (see following slide). ​
  • CPI​: January 2026 CPI – 2.4% annualized increase, compared to a 3.0% increase in January 2025
  • Fed Rate​: The Fed paused rate cuts in January 2026 after three consecutive 25 basis point reductions in 2025.​
  • GDP Growth​: U.S. real GDP increased 1.4% in Q4 of 2025-showing a significant decline. ​The Oct. 1-Nov. 12, 2025 government shutdown and personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) increase in December 2025 have both been cited as impacting the growth.​
  • Unemployment​: January 2026 national unemployment rate = 4.3%​, while in December 2025​, the Nevada unemployment rate = 5.3%​ and Washoe County = 4.0%​
  • Impacts per the Supreme Court Ruling on tariffs​
  • Impacts per the Middle East conflict

FY27 Budget Requests​

FY27 General Fund submissions reflect requested increases of $45.7 million.  This includes 22.55 new FTEs and requests for the general fund to pay for 43.75 existing FTEs that are currently funded with non-General Fund sources.​ Given the current fiscal landscape, approval of every request is not viable.  However, we heard the concerns at the ​February Budget Congress and have seen similar themes with the FY27 budget requests – particularly around ​workload/capacity. Some of these themes include, but aren’t limited to:​

  • Expectations/Service Levels/Service Delivery – the need to bring internal and external expectations into alignment with available resources​
  • Personnel – the need to recruit and retain the best candidates​
  • Infrastructure/Technology – the need to maintain existing facilities, ensure security and stability, and leverage/exploit technology solutions across the organization

On March 3, 2026, the Elected Officials and Department Heads participated in a follow-up session to the February Budget Congress and FY27 budget submissions. There was robust discussion and follow-up actions are forthcoming.

FY27 Budget Timeline

  • January 20, 2026​: BCC presentation re: FY25 Audited Results (re-cap); FY26 Year-to-Date; FY27 Preliminary Fiscal Outlook​
  • January 27, 2026​: BCC Budget Workshop​
  • February 3, 2026​: Internal Department-only Budget Congress​
  • February 24, 2026​: BCC monthly presentation​
  • March 9 through March 13, 2026​: Commissioner briefings​
  • March 17, 2026​: BCC monthly presentation including updated FY27 Outlook​
  • April 14, 2026​: BCC presentation re: County Manager’s Recommended FY27 Budget ​
  • May 19, 2026​: BCC Public Hearing and Adoption of FY27 Final Budget​

*Note: Additional FY27 presentations can be held, as needed, on April 21st and/or April 28th. May 12th will not provide enough time to incorporate changes and meet the NRS publication and OML deadlines.​

Washoe County continues to:​

  • Focus on fiscal sustainability and budgeting best practices and has been formally recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) twice over the past few months.​
  • Enhance and expand fiscal transparency and communication (internal and external).​
  • Recognize the challenges with the traditional budget process and make adjustments/update/pivot as able.​
  • FY26 Year-to-date General Fund unaudited financials are trending as expected.​

FY27 Budget Process: Next Steps​

  • Commissioner briefings March 9 – March 13, 2026 ​
  • Final FY27 Property Tax revenue projection from the Department of Taxation March 25, 2026 ​
  • FY27 recommended budget communicated to departments by April 8, 2026​
  • Presenting the recommended budget to the Board on April 14, 2026​
  • Coming back to the Board with the final FY27 budget on May 19, 2026

Did You Hear?

Washoe County has received the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget document (7/1/2025 – 6/30/2026).​

This is the 24th year that Washoe County has received this esteemed award. The FY26 award also reflects the second year in a row that Washoe County has received special recognition for outstanding ratings in the category “Strategic Goals and Strategies.”​

Why does it matter?​

The GFOA Budget Awards Program is designed to encourage governments to prepare budget documents of the highest quality to meet the needs of decision-makers and citizens. This award is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting. ​Its attainment represents a significant achievement for Washoe County and reflects our commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In receiving the distinguished budget presentation award, Washoe County has met both guidelines established by the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting and the GFOA’s best practices on budgeting.​ Further, the document itself is a comprehensive resource that goes beyond fiscal information.

Additionally Washoe County is featured in the GFOA February 2026 edition of Government Finance Review. Titled “Creative Approaches to Service Provision,” the article’s highlights last year’s first-ever Washoe County Budget Congress.​ Read full article here: https://www.gfoa.org/materials/gfr0226-washoe

​ Slide titled “Washoe County FY 2026 General Fund Unaudited Actuals (as of 1/31/2026).” On the left, an arrow labeled “FY26 Year to Date (YTD) Jul–Jan” with text stating “No emerging issues or concerns based on year-to-date trends.” On the right, a bar chart compares budgets and year-to-date actuals for FY26 and FY25, showing revenues and transfers in (green) and expenditures and transfers out (blue). A table below summarizes July–January unaudited totals: FY26 revenue is $343.9 million (63% of budget), expenditures are $314.8 million (56% of budget), resulting in net revenue of $29.2 million. FY25 shows $304.4 million in revenue (60%), $299.2 million in expenditures (57%), and net revenue of $5.2 million. Note indicates expenditures do not include contingency.