Fiscal year 2027 · Proposed
The proposed general fund budget is $3.096 billion, about 12% above this year. Commissioners have until mid-September to decide whether that money comes from a higher tax rate, from cuts, or from savings the county can only spend once.
Texas law defines two reference rates. Which one commissioners adopt determines whether the budget balances on its own or needs roughly a fifth of a billion dollars from somewhere else.
The county-only operating rate rises from 38.036¢ to 41.934¢ per $100 of taxable value, about 10.2%. On the average homestead of $402,489, the county portion of the bill goes from roughly $1,202 to $1,350 — up about $148 a year. Because this is the voter-approval rate, adopting it does not trigger a November election.
Five items account for most of the growth. Three are costs arriving whether the county likes it or not; two are decisions Commissioners Court made.
Against these, the budget office has identified $186 million to close the gap: $110 million in new revenue and fee changes, $76 million in cost savings including surplus property sales and interest earnings.
The split is not the usual party line. The county judge and the court's most conservative member both call it overspending, for opposite reasons.
Commissioner Tom Ramsey, Precinct 3
Calls the proposal the second-largest tax increase in county history and disputes that law enforcement is the main cost driver.
County Judge Lina Hidalgo
Says the shortfall is self-inflicted — the result of pay raises approved over her budget director's objections, not state mandates or inflation.
Bill King, Baker Institute
Finds the county in reasonable financial shape but management-heavy, and argues it should trim rather than tax.
Commissioner Lesley Briones, Precinct 4
Points to unfunded state mandates and federal service cuts hitting a growing population, while the state caps property tax growth at 3.5% a year.
Daniel Ramos, budget director
Cites expiring pandemic aid, shrinking federal grants, and uncertain disaster reimbursements as pressures outside the county's control.
Both camps concede the same structural point. Much of the gap is bridged with money the county can spend only once — building sales and reserves — against obligations that return every year. Hidalgo's objection is that this defers the problem rather than solving it.
The vote everyone watches is the last one. The decisions are made the week before.
Commissioners debated for hours and took no vote on either the budget or the rate.
Where the rate is effectively settled and where proposed cuts get their real hearing. The meeting that matters most.
The formal opportunity to speak on the record, followed by the vote on both the tax rate and the budget.
Adopting at or below the voter-approval rate avoids an election. A rate above it would go to voters in November.
Comment before September 8 if you want to affect the outcome. Comment on the 17th if you want it in the record.
Meetings begin at 9 a.m. at 1001 Preston St. and stream online. The September 17 hearing is the one built for public comment.
openbudget@bmd.hctx.net goes directly to the Office of Management and Budget.
Four precinct offices and the county judge each get a vote on the rate. Your own precinct office is the shortest path.
Budget portal County judge Precinct 1 Precinct 2 Precinct 3 Precinct 4