Coffman: Lincoln County doing well!

Greetings from the Courthouse!

Well, it’s been one year and I’m still loving my new job!

I just wanted to give a quick update on the things that have been going on around Lincoln County.

I’ve now had the opportunity to experience one complete cycle of county government and the associated budgets. Speaking of which, Lincoln County is currently in pretty good financial shape. I have to give credit to the Board of Commissioners previous to my term who made the necessary adjustments to the budget that put us where we are today. The employees and elected officials of the county also sacrificed cost-of-living raises or took pay cuts to do their part. This is just another example of Lincoln County people pulling together and doing what it takes to get the job done when it matters. Also a factor is that the sales tax revenue was up 18.5% over 2010. This means that people are spending more money in Lincoln County. This is great news! It seems more people are realizing the value of spending money locally.

As I mentioned in my last article, the self-insurance medical program that was implemented early in 2011 is performing very well. After only the first year, we were able to use some additional funds from within that account for the benefit of the employees. We were pleased to provide all county employees and their families with a one-year MedStar membership. This was very well received and is a very valuable benefit for the hard-working people of our county and the self-insurance fund. There was also money used to help offset a premium increase. I am hopeful that we can continue providing these and more benefits from our self-insurance fund.

Recently, the Board has opted into the Voluntary Stewardship Program. This program was facilitated by the Ruckelshaus Center to create an alternative to new regulations of agriculture under the Growth Management Act. By opting in, counties have the opportunity to create voluntary programs that protect critical areas while maintaining and enhancing agriculture. If funds become available, the county will have three years to create a local plan after accepting money from the state. Opting into the VSP and the local plan are not subject to legal challenge, thus protecting the county from future law suits. The Washington Farm Bureau and many other agriculture organizations supported counties opting in because it is the only way to ensure that counties and agriculture are protected from lawsuits and new regulations.

We are still working on ways to keep our railroad up and running. Last fall, Lincoln County submitted a federal grant application for 12 million dollars to rehabilitate the CW line. The grant was denied, but we will resubmit it in the next couple of months as the federal government has announced another round of grants. We are also working with our legislators to try to get some state funds for rehabilitation. Since the state of Washington owns the railroad, I am hopeful they will come through with some funding.

Speaking of legislators, as many of you know, Lincoln County is becoming part of the 13th Legislative District due to recent redistricting at the federal, state and local level. I traveled to Olympia this past week, among other things, to meet our new delegation. After meeting and talking to them, I am very optimistic that Lincoln County will continue to have excellent representation.

These are just a few of the things happening in the county. As time goes on, I continue to become more involved in my respective committees and I am learning a LOT! The longer I’m here, the busier I become! I am trying to keep up notifications on Facebook, so if you want another way to keep in touch, check out Commissioner Rob Coffman and don't forget to hit the “Like” button!

Please feel free to contact me anytime with questions or concerns via e-mail at rcoffman@co.lincoln.wa.us, or by telephone at 509-641-0099.