Commissioners Set Budget Workshop Dates, Receive Judge’s Recommended Budget

Terra Rivers | Managing Editor

On Tuesday, the Hays County Commissioners Court received a copy of the Judge’s Recommended Budget and set the dates for the budget workshops.

During the item, Judge Ruben Becerra provided Commissioners with a brief overview of the budget, which commissioners received copies of Tuesday.

Becerra said the calculations, through no fault of any department heads, did not come through until 8 PM yesterday due to technical issues.

“Due to the economic condition and trying to be cognizant of all our citizens, what I’ve done is provided a budget that drops our rate from the last one we approved ever so slightly,” Becerra said. “It is a tough budget in a touch time because someone can say right now we’re not hurting as a community but we don’t know when this budget steps in what that climate will look like.”

According to Becerra, his recommended budget includes the new positions implemented in FY 2020, universal cutbacks unless “they were a new program,” removed IT requests, zeroed out the outsourcing of the new jail, and “took a half of a penny from road and bridge.”

According to Becerra, other items in the judge’s recommended budget:

• Operating budget requests were reduced to current budgets EXCEPT for new programs
• No new or replacement vehicles EXCEPT for one for the office of emergency services
• $80,000 for water line improvements for the new jail was kept.
• $90,000 for software and hardware projects moved to the tobacco settlement fund
• $687,000 for the cost of living increase for near 1000 employees included: merit not included
• $715,000 for new personnel for the Hays County Jail

Becerra said his goal wasn’t to reach the no-new-revenue tax rate (effective tax rate), which the budget was a few cents off of; the house appraised at approximately $275,000 will have will see an increase of $37 in their tax bill for Hays County.

“I was trying to reach for a good fiscal document that would provide the necessities for our community,” Becerra continued. “My truest goal is to provide something that is useful as a jumping off point for this court.”

Becerra named expenses that have been added to the budget over the last fiscal year including:

• $785,000 To the District Attorney’s office
• $250,000 in Magistration
• $500,000 in medical contracts with WellPath

According to Becerra, the tax rate for 2020 for his budget is recommended at .4187 pert $100 of valuation.

FY 2020’s approved tax rate is .4237 per $100 of valuation.

The Commissioners Court approved three budget workshops which will be held at 10 AM on August 11, August 18, and August 25.

The Hays County Judge’s Recommended Budget has not been posted as of yet. This article will be updated when it is made available to the public.

Related News:

• Hays County Commissioners Approve FY 2020 Budget, Ratify 2019 Tax Rate
• Hays County Commissioners Court Proposes County Budget $59 Million Under Current Budget; Lowers Tax Rate

Links To Hays County Budgets Of The Past:

• FY 2011 Budget 
• FY 2012 Budget 
• FY 2013 Budget 
• FY 2014 Budget 
• FY 2015 Budget 
• FY 2016 Budget 
• FY 2017 Budget 
• FY 2018 Budget 
• FY 2018 Budget 
• FY 2019 Budget