The John Gumm building in Columbia County. (Courtesy of Columbia County)

Facing millions of dollars less in revenue for the next fiscal year, Columbia County plans to close county offices on select furlough days as a cost-saving measure.

The recently approved county budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year is nearly $7 million less than the prior year. To account for the financial shortfalls, the county has designated nine furlough days from this August to next June in which the majority of county offices will be closed.

What will happen on furlough days?

Many of the designated furlough days fall close to major holidays. The furlough days are as follows:

• Aug. 29, 2025
• Nov. 26, 2025
• Dec. 26, 2025
• Jan. 2, 2026
• Feb. 13, 2026
• March 27, 2026
• April 10, 2026
• May 22, 2026
• June 22, 2026

On these days, most county offices will be closed, including those in the Columbia County Courthouse, the courthouse annex and the John Gumm building.

Though many county services will be impacted by the closures, essential county services will remain open. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, Public Works Department and CC Rider transit service will still be available for county residents to utilize.

This isn’t the first time the county has implemented furloughs as a cost-saving measure — from 2009-2015, the county implemented between four and 26 furlough days annually.

“This difficult decision is intended to preserve services and avoid layoffs, while keeping Columbia County financially stable,” County Commissioner Margaret Magruder said in a press release. “We appreciate the community’s patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging time.”

Why is Columbia County short on cash?

The county’s total budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year is about $7 million smaller than last year’s.

Much of this decrease can be explained by a decrease in federal funding.

“Across the country, rural counties have been especially affected by steep declines in federal funding — particularly from sources like forest payments,” the press release stated.

Additionally, the county is no longer benefitting from American Rescue Plan Act funds. The county has received more than $14 million in ARPA funds since 2022, but those funds are no longer available and the grants have been spent, Magruder said in the county budget message.

The county’s general fund, which finances the majority of operations, has about $3 million less to work with than the year prior. The decrease in the general fund is also caused, in part, by the loss of ARPA funds, but was also influenced by stagnant revenue channels and lower property tax collections. Meanwhile, employee costs continue to increase.

All of these factors combined prompted the county to implement furlough days to balance the budget without reducing staff.