WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS ADOPT NEW BUDGET, TAX RATE

  

Washington County Commissioners unanimously voted to adopt a budget of $45,004,482 and a tax rate of $0.3840 per $100 valuation at their meeting today (Tuesday).

The budget is made up of $26,597,731 for the general fund, $7,741,339 for the road and bridge fund, $9,267,375 for the EMS fund, $418,700 for debt service and $979,337 for the district attorney.  Last year’s adopted budget was $40,330,551.

The new budget raises more revenue from property taxes than the previous budget by $1,632,352, an increase of 7.22 percent.  Of that amount, $527,975 is revenue raised from new property on the tax roll.

County Judge John Durrenberger said of the $1,632,352, employee pay raises make up $773,309, while $630,389 is to hire ten new employees.  Those new hires will include additional emergency dispatchers, EMS personnel, district attorney’s office employees, additional help at the Expo and a communications director. 

Accounted for in the budget is a 3 percent cost of living increase for county employees, along with a 2 percent increase for merit.  Elected officials are also getting a pay raise: approximately $60,700 in increased pay is budgeted across offices such as the county judge, commissioners, county and district clerks, justices of the peace, county attorney, tax assessor-collector, treasurer and sheriff.  The raises range from an additional $2,965 in salary for the county judge to an extra $5,699 for each commissioner.  Another roughly $64,000 in added pay is spread out across the four constable’s offices.

One increase of note was for the Engineering and Development Services fund, which is seeing an increase of $2,468,269 from last year.  Durrenberger said the county is pursuing a grant for flood mitigation on Meyersville Road at New Year’s Creek, to build a bridge using acquired right-of-way.  The total project is $4 million, and the grant requires $1,466,780 in matching funds from the county.  An extra $1 million in budgeted funds for EDS are for rock and asphalt paving; the county is moving paving operations in-house.

The new tax rate consists of $0.2940 for maintenance and operations, $0.0823 for road and bridge and $0.0077 for interest and sinking.  It is lower than last year’s adopted rate of $0.3860, but is effectively a 3.5 percent increase in the rate due to higher property values. 

Much of the discussion during the public hearing was from commissioners addressing recent media reports on the county’s finances, including Monday’s Spectator editorial on KWHI.  Commissioner Kirk Hanath said this budget was approached with “a great deal of reverence” and that while he understands there is “contention” about the budget, he feels “this is the right direction for our community and for our citizens.”  He also said the court has to be concerned about the future, not just the here and now.  Durrenberger said the county is not being “frivolous” with the public’s tax dollars.

Hanath also discussed the EMS department and the 2022 outside audit report that showed the general fund had to move $1,699,925 to the EMS fund.  He rhetorically stated if the county is going to require public safety departments to make a profit, then those profits need to be made across the board.  He said, “I don’t think we want to do that as a community.”  He added that last year, $2.2 million was written off for taxpayers who needed EMS transport, because the county does not want patients to get a bill in their “lowest moment of life” and would rather them pay it when they are in a better position to do so. 

For the EMS helicopter, Hanath said the air expenses in 2022 to METRO Aviation were $1,485,219, while revenue as of today is $1,316,482.  Revenues pending that are held up in court through insurance disputes are $577,684.

Hanath decried the “personal” attacks on the EMS department and EMS Director Kevin Deramus.  Commissioner Candice Bullock called the Spectator’s report “fake news” and said this type of “divisiveness” should not stand unchallenged. 

After the end of the regular meeting, commissioners opened a meeting for the Pecan Glen Road District to approve levying the road district’s new tax rate at $0.33407 per $100 valuation.  The tax is to support road upgrades within the road district and only applies to residents in the Pecan Glen subdivision.

In other business today, the court:

• Appointed Bob Cox to the Washington County Historical Commission to serve the remainder of the 2023-24 term.
• Approved a subdivision variance request amendment for a land division fronting Cedar Hill Road in Precinct 3.
• Approved a subdivision variance request for a land division fronting Bosse Road in Precinct 1.