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Hunt County judge previews FY 2025-26 budget, says tax revenue rising though tax rate fell since 2010
Summary
County Judge Stovall gave a preliminary budget presentation Aug. 18, saying the county will collect $6,431,513 more in taxes than last year (a 12% increase) and that $2,534,540 of that increase stems from new property. He outlined capital and staffing pressures the county has addressed since taking office.
Hunt County Judge Stovall on Aug. 18 gave a preliminary overview of the fiscal 2025-26 budget, saying the county will collect $6,431,513 more in property taxes than it did last year — which he characterized as a 12% increase in tax revenue — and that $2,534,540 of the increase is attributable to new property.
“This year the tax rate this year will raise 6,431,513 more dollars from taxes than it did last year, and that's a 12% increase,” Stovall told the Commissioner's Court. He added that taxes from newly valued property account for a portion of that increase and that the effective local tax-burden change for property owners is smaller than the headline figure: “Of that, the property raised from new or the values raised from new property, the taxes raised from new property is 2,534,540. So the real calculation is that it's it only goes up, I think it's about 5 or, 5 or 6%.”
Stovall said county property values have climbed roughly three- to fourfold since about 2010 even as the county's tax rate has fallen by roughly 30% to 33% over the same period. He linked recent budget pressure to deferred maintenance and staffing shortfalls the county has worked to address since 2019, including replacing courthouse rooftop air-handling units and making the county jail fully certified after prior deficiencies.
“When we got here ... the average age of a vehicle in Hunt County was 18 and a half years old. We had to replace every air conditioner on top of the courthouse,” Stovall said. He also said wages were raised to reduce vacancy rates in public-safety and other departments; Stovall noted the jailer previously earned about $34,000 and that positions were chronically understaffed before the county increased pay.
Stovall said he will present a full budget next week and that the Aug. 18 remarks were intended to correct misunderstandings circulating on social media about how tax-rate changes and property-value growth affect individual bills.
The court did not take formal budget action during the session; the judge invited attendees to the fuller presentation at the next meeting.
