Overview
- County budget officials on Monday presented a $3.1 billion FY27 proposal that aims to close a multi‑hundred million dollar shortfall without layoffs.
- The size of the gap varies across reports with the budget office framing it at about $129 million while other local coverage cited roughly $178 million.
- Officials say the shortfall is driven largely by $89 million in higher health care costs and $76 million in additional law enforcement expenses that include planned deputy pay raises.
- Planned actions to balance the books include raising the county portion of the property tax rate from 38.1¢ to 41.9¢ per $100 of value, $61 million in departmental offsets, $16 million in one‑time fund draws and potential land sales.
- The Commissioners Court must adopt the budget by mid‑September before the Oct. 1 fiscal year start and any tax increase above the state 3.5% threshold would appear on the November ballot, a change that could add roughly $226 a year for an average $400,000 homestead under the proposal.