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 revenue sources that helped offset costs include higher juvenile-detention facility fees from other counties and improved interest income.

Public questions at the hearing focused on how expenditures could rise while the county used a no-new-revenue tax rate. A resident who identified himself as Dale asked, "How can number 1, if you're not increasing revenue on property tax and sales tax revenue is flat, how do we get a 7.2% increase in expenditures?" The judge and staff replied with a line-by-line explanation of how one-time fund balances, the 27th pay period, increased juvenile-detention revenue and planned cost consolidations permitted the increases without raising the effective tax rate for existing property.

Procedural actions: The court opened and closed the public hearing and formally announced that the vote to adopt the 2026 budget and set the 2025 tax rate will occur on Monday, Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. in the commissioners courtroom. Following a closed-session discussion that included real-property and capital-project priorities, the court voted to direct its bond counsel to prepare paperwork for a county-side Certificates of Obligation issuance in the amount of $14,500,000; a motion to concur with that amount passed by voice vote.

What the CO money is expected to pay for: County staff presented a preliminary list of candidate projects for the CO issuance totaling roughly $17.9 million in high/medium/low priority items; that earlier list included an estimated $6 million scope for jail mechanical and HVAC work that the court discussed removing from short-term plans because the county is evaluating longer-term options. The staff presentation included other items such as emergency response complex work, road and bridge projects, improvements at county-owned buildings (including the heritage building and 311 Building), animal-services facility work, and airport-related conduit/road costs. Staff and commissioners discussed staging and eligibility rules for Certificate-funded projects and the domino effects of relocating offices (for example, moving the elections office to trigger other eligible renovations elsewhere).

Budget trade-offs and clarifications: The judge said the court prioritized cutting the tax rate while increasing public-safety pay to remain competitive for recruitment and retention. He described several technical budget choices that made the numbers work: using conservative budgeting and anticipated unfilled-salary "float," applying one-time fund-balance dollars for the 27th pay period and certain equipment costs, and relying on increased usage fees at the juvenile detention center (staff estimated about $700,000 in additional revenue year over year). The judge said some capital projects are planned to be funded by the CO issuance and others may wait until final design, eligibility and cost estimates are refined.

Next steps: The formal adoption of the 2026 budget and the county's 2025 tax rate is scheduled for Sept. 29, 2025, at 10 a.m. The county will direct bond counsel and staff to proceed with offering documents for a $14.5 million county-side CO issuance and then refine project scopes, eligibility and cost estimates before bonds are sold. Staff told the court that further engineering and design work will be needed to firm up costs and that some lower-priority items may be trimmed or reprioritized as the issuance is finalized.

Ending: Commissioners said they will continue budget workshops and project-level reviews before final bond sale documents are completed; the Sept. 29 meeting will be the formal adoption point for the budget and tax rate.