Van Zandt County commissioners narrow FY26 budget; $310,000 shortfall remains
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Summary
At a Sept. 18 workshop, Van Zandt County officials reviewed an updated FY26 budget that shows a $310,000 deficit, discussed returned department funds (including an estimated $377,489 from the sheriff's office), and agreed not to authorize new purchases until year-end closeout figures are final.
Van Zandt County commissioners held a budget workshop Sept. 18 and reviewed an updated FY26 draft (version 9/16) that the county judge said currently shows a $310,000 shortfall. The court heard department-by-department estimates of unspent funds and discussed how those amounts could affect the final budget.
The county judge told the court that the budget work by departments and commissioners reduced the shortfall to “negative, 310,000.” Sheriff Bridger reported an estimated $377,489 in salary savings coming back to the county and said he would ask commissioners next year to allow a small portion of returned salary funds to buy tasers for deputies. A commissioner urged seeking grants before purchasing equipment, noting grants often take a year to secure.
Commissioners stressed they would not allocate returned funds or authorize purchases until the auditor’s closeout work is complete; the auditor’s office indicated final figures and fund balances likely will be known in December. The judge said he plans to include a permanent-improvement line of about $4.2 million and a contingency line of $4 million in the budget so those amounts would be legally available if the court chooses to spend them. The judge also described a separate $6 million fund balance that would be reflected as contingency rather than daily operating revenue.
The court discussed pay changes already reflected in the draft: a 3% across-the-board raise is in the posted budget, with higher adjustments for specific under-market positions (the judge has requested pay changes for court reporters and IT staff). Commissioners asked staff to verify classifications and confirm whether some part-time positions converted to full-time had raises calculated on the correct base.
No formal budget adoption occurred at the workshop. The judge said he would correct a keying error discovered that morning, accept additional proposed cuts from department heads, and release a new final draft on Monday for review before formal adoption proceedings.
Ending: Commissioners asked the auditor’s office to produce a final cash/fund-balance report before the court makes any discretionary allocations from returned funds; until then, purchases tied to returned salary dollars—such as tasers—were to be deferred.
