Commissioners review revenue outlook and proposed personnel changes as county prepares FY2025–26 budget

County finance staff presented the preliminary FY2025–26 revenue outlook and county leaders outlined personnel and benefits proposals intended to support recruitment and retention across departments, including law enforcement and detention.

Roberta (finance staff who presented revenue projections) summarized the county’s major revenue drivers: property taxes, gross receipts tax (GRT), oil-and-gas production and equipment taxes, payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) and grants. She noted the county’s historic conservatism in budgeting and said staff proposed budgeting $30 million for property tax revenue in FY2025–26 (the presentation included a lower, cautionary figure because of recent state constitutional amendments increasing veteran exemptions). For gross receipts, staff proposed budgeting $42 million to the general fund and $67.3 million countywide GRT. For oil and gas, staff presented projection methodology tied to production volumes, West Texas Intermediate and Henry Hub indices; the preliminary projection for oil and gas production receipts for the county was presented as about $65.7 million and $12 million for oil-and-gas equipment tax (the team said they budgeted 58% of the 2024 equipment check as a conservative assumption). Roberta told the commission the county plans to submit an interim budget in May and a final budget by the state deadline in July.

County management then presented personnel and benefits proposals intended to address vacancies and turnover—notably staffing shortages in the sheriff’s office and detention. The county manager described recurring costs already in the budget (existing step increases, longevity pay and a COLA mechanism) and proposed a 5% COLA for the coming year; he noted the step increase alone would cost roughly $337,000 and the 5% COLA was approximately $2 million in aggregate in the estimate provided to the commission.

Management also recommended measures to improve recruitment and retention without permanently increasing base salaries: (1) increase the county employer contribution to retirement/benefits for public-safety staff to the maximums described in the presentation (a combined item including a state-required half-percent increase this year), (2) institute a 40-hour personal leave credit on July 1 for all employees (new hires would receive it on first day, existing employees would receive 40 hours that must be used before the fiscal year ends), and (3) pay a percentage of employee health insurance premiums to reduce employee out-of-pocket costs (staff used a 15% insurance-premium inflation assumption in its preliminary budget work). Management said the combined cost to fully fund the employer contribution increases and state-mandated changes would be roughly $1.335 million; estimated maximum exposure for insurance if every budgeted position were filled was described as approximately $7.7 million in total premium impact, though staff said realistically they expect a lower figure because not all positions are filled for the full year.

Commissioners and department leaders discussed a countywide compensation study and third-party analysis to benchmark wages and ensure competitiveness in a tight labor market. Management said it would pursue a third-party compensation study and return with more refined proposals. The commission received the revenue and personnel discussion as the working basis for the upcoming budget process and directed staff to bring back refined proposals and the formal budget schedule.