Hardin County holds public hearings on fiscal 2026 budget and proposes slight cut to tax rate

Hardin County Commissioners Court on Aug. 26 held public hearings on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget and on a proposed tax rate of 0.496965 per $100 valuation but took no formal adoption votes. The court’s presiding official summarized the budget and the tax-rate notices and invited public comment before adjourning the special meeting.

The court’s summary showed total proposed expenditures of $30,796,366 and estimated revenue of $30,734,645, leaving a projected shortfall of $61,721. The presiding official said that amount is planned to be covered by a fund balance in the county’s interest and sinking fund tied to the certificate of obligation on the county annex, noting this is the final year to pay that note. “The amount of proposed revenue or estimated revenue is $30,734,645,” the presiding official said.

The court noted the current adopted budget for the year ending Sept. 30 is $29,525,552 across four funds. The presiding official repeated that the court’s auditor prepared the budget summary and that a notice of the public hearing had been published in the county’s official newspaper (publication name garbled in the transcript). The fiscal year covered by the proposed budget runs Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026.

On the personnel side, the presiding official and county staff discussed a requested $1-per-hour increase for four crime victim advocates, which would effectively add about $0.47 per hour above the 3% already budgeted if grant funds are approved. The presiding official said one grant (an Office of the Governor sexual assault grant) was not approved; the court was still awaiting a decision from the Office of the Attorney General for a VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grant. The presiding official cautioned that the pay increase would be paid only if the grants are awarded.

On the tax-rate hearing, the court presented several statutory tax-rate benchmarks. The prior-year consolidated tax rate for Hardin County was 0.502473 per $100 valuation. The proposed rate for 2025 was 0.496965 per $100 valuation; the court said the no-new-revenue rate is 0.487183 and the voter-approval rate is 0.53383. “We would like to adopt the no new revenue tax rate, but things go up,” the presiding official said, noting rising costs for insurance, electricity and salaries and saying the county sits near the lower end of pay scales in the Southeast Texas region.

A member of the public who reviewed a 14-year tax-rate history favored the presented chart and urged that it be included in the packet; that speaker also criticized online commenters and said the court has been “very, very, conscious of taxpayer money.”

The court also reviewed the county’s indigent-defense expenditures, which the presiding official said the budget documents show as $670,444; the presiding official added the state contribution toward that expense has been under $50,000 in recent years. Commissioners briefly asked whether the county recovers any costs for housing TDC inmates; a staff member said the county did receive some recoupment but that those amounts and rules are limited.

After taking public comment and hearing no objections to either hearing, Commissioner Kirkland moved to adjourn the public hearings; Commissioner Cooper seconded the motion, and the court voted to adjourn.

No formal action to adopt the fiscal year 2026 budget or the proposed tax rate was taken during the Aug. 26 special meeting. The court indicated the adopted budget, once approved in a future action, would be filed with the county clerk and uploaded to the county website within a few days of adoption.

Meeting length and participation: the special meeting lasted approximately 16–17 minutes and included staff presentations, limited discussion among commissioners and one member of the public speaking during the hearing period.