Victoria County holds budget hearing, schedules adoption and sets $14.5 million county-side Certificates of Obligation

Victoria County commissioners held the required public hearing Monday on the proposed 2026 county budget, discussed revenue and spending priorities, set the formal adoption date for Sept. 29 and — after a closed-session review of capital projects — directed staff to proceed with a county-side Certificates of Obligation issuance of $14,500,000.

At the hearing the county judge summarized how staff balanced a no-new-revenue tax rate with targeted spending increases. "At the same time, we cut the tax rate and adopted the no new revenue rate. At the same time, we put a significant new investment in public safety salaries. An 8% increase no less for about... personnel in the sheriff's office," the judge said, explaining the administration used a mix of one-time fund-balance items, anticipated "float" (unfilled positions) and increased fee/usage revenues to fund some of the increases.

Why it matters: County leaders said they intentionally set a "no new revenue" tax rate to avoid raising property-tax burden on current property owners while funding an 8% pay increase for public-safety personnel and covering a 27th pay period that occurs irregularly in some years. County officials said other…