Hays County Commissioners Court adopted FY 21 budget

Following a public hearing on September 22 that included public comments, the Hays County Commissioners Court adopted a budget for Fiscal Year 2021.

“Ensuring our employees have the resources they need to provide a high level of service to our residents was the main goal of this budget,” Pct. 4 Commissioner Walt Smith said. “We made some tough choices and compromises to create a strong budget that keeps us well positioned financially.”

The approved budget highlights include:

Balanced budget reducing Tax Rate to .4212, or $.4212 per $100 home valuation; the FY20 Adopted Tax Rate was .4237.

Funding of the Following Capital Projects:

· $750K – Flood Mitigation Projects

· $500K – Ground Water Modeling

· $100K – Criminal Justice Capital Funding

Funding of the Following Capital Assets:

· $486K – WestNet Fire/EMS CAD Program

· $80K – Waterline Improvements for Jail

· $90K – Software/Hardware Programs for Various Depts

· $202K – Upgraded Civil Process Software for Constables

· $110K – HCSO funding for 10 additional leased vehicles with capital equipment vehicle package for patrol units

· $54K – Constable Pct. 2 funding for two additional leased vehicles with capital equipment vehicle package

Personnel (includes fringe)

· $1.5M – Salary Market Increases for Law Enforcement positions per Collective Bargaining Agreement

· $344K 2% COLA for Employees and Dept. Heads effective 4/1/20 (excludes Elected Officials) · $845K New Positions for expansion of Jail Operations

· $223K – New Positions & related Vehicles and Equipment for Constable Precincts 1, 4 & 5

“During these uncertain times, I submitted a lean budget,” said Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra. “One key item was a three-million dollar cut to wasteful outsourcing of inmates. This allowed me to set the budget to last fiscal year’s numbers and ensure that all our strides in judicial investments remain effective.”

He added, “As a result, our adopted budget had a more efficient use of taxpayer dollars, allowed us to reinvest heavily in our judicial system, and a lower tax rate was achieved.”

Average Home Values, Exemptions and Average Property Tax Increase FY 2019-2021

Note: Increase due to new growth/additional taxes collected, not the tax rate

“The Hays County Commissioners Court put together a budget that balances the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and provides the necessary services to the citizens of Hays County,” said Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones. “I would like to thank my colleagues for working together during this challenging time to accomplish this goal.”