Coryell County financial staff and the county tax assessor’s office presented tax‑rate worksheets and a general fund projection during the FY2026 budget workshop, showing the voter‑approval (rollback) and no‑new‑revenue calculations and preliminary reserve estimates.

County financial staff (Mister Wood) said the debt service portion of the tax rate is fixed for FY2026 at the amount required to meet principal and interest and that the voter‑approval rate (the maximum the court may adopt without voter approval) was computed and applied to current property valuations to produce a tax levy estimate. Using the voter‑approval rate in preliminary calculations produced an estimated general fund reserve of about 11.8 percent under the current departmental requests; staff noted that this projection did not yet incorporate the sheriff’s revised budget reductions discussed at the workshop.

Wood explained distribution of the tax rate across funds using the last year’s allocations as a model (roughly 72.4% to general fund, 22.5% to road and bridge, 2% to capital improvement, 3.1% to volunteer fire departments) and noted that assessments such as the appraisal district charge are tied to tax values. He also presented the “no new revenue” (effective) rate, which would generate roughly the same levy as last year and thus drive a different reserve outcome than the voter‑approval calculation.

Commissioners discussed several adjustments presented during the workshop: the sheriff’s office trimmed some requests, Road & Bridge staff proposed deferring a wheel loader to lower near‑term tax impacts, and county staff flagged other contingency items (e.g., solid waste event support to Citcog, indigent funerals reimbursement levels) for follow‑up. The court discussed whether to include an emergency management position in the FY2026 budget; some commissioners signaled reluctance to add that position, and the judge asked commissioners to indicate preferences so staff can model both scenarios.

Why it matters: The tax‑rate choice — voter‑approval vs. no‑new‑revenue — and departmental prioritization will determine the county’s fund balance and reserves as FY2026 is adopted. County staff and commissioners agreed to review sheriff reductions, capital deferrals and a limited set of new positions before the next meeting.

No formal adoption of a tax rate or final budget occurred at the workshop; staff said they will return with revised numbers incorporating the decisions and concessions discussed.