Titus County adopts $18,086,243 FY2026 budget and approves 0.3861 tax rate

Titus County Commissioners Court on Aug. 2025 approved a $18,086,243 budget for fiscal year 2026 and adopted a tax rate of 0.3861, the voter-approval rate the court said was needed to cover public safety radios, road repairs and cybersecurity costs. The action passed by unanimous vote.

The budget and tax-rate votes followed remarks from Judge Cooper and several commissioners outlining cost pressures and items added back into the budget. Judge Cooper said the county needed updated radios and in‑car software for law enforcement after years without replacements and that “those radios don't work in 3 of our schools, maybe 4.” He tied the equipment requests to officer safety and to communication problems inside some concrete and metal buildings.

Why it matters: the court said the expanded budget pays for policing equipment and software, increases for road and bridge materials, cybersecurity insurance and a multimillion-dollar street-repair project. The court also reported increases to inmate food costs and to the county's health-insurance line.

Key facts approved and discussed - Budget total approved: $18,086,243 (motion by Commissioner Mitchell; second by Commissioner Applewhite; carried unanimously). - Tax rate approved: 0.3861 (voter-approval rate) (motion approved unanimously). - General fund net increase cited in budget workshops: $731,162. - Additional road-and-bridge funding cited: $171,600. - Other funds increase cited by the court: $4,040,000. - Sheriff-related shortfalls and equipment/backlog figure described as about $546,000. - Cybersecurity insurance rise described as a 6% increase (about $86,000). - Street-repair project described as “a little over a million dollars.” - The court said special revenue road-and-bridge expenditures will total about $834,100 for all precincts, which the judge said includes about a $43,000 raise allocated for commissioners’ road-material budgets.

Discussion vs. formal action Court discussion: Judge Cooper and commissioners reviewed why the increase was needed, listing radios and mobile software for deputies, road materials and a planned street repair, cybersecurity insurance increases, rising costs for feeding inmates and debt-service information. The judge noted past tax rates (0.469 in 2021; 0.4263 in 2022; 0.376 in 2023; 0.37 in 2024) and said the 0.3861 voter-approval rate remains below earlier levels. He also mentioned an incoming company, Luminess, which the court said is expected to add tax base and produce an estimated $500,000–$600,000 in annual revenue once fully operational.

Formal actions taken - Motion to approve the FY2026 budget for $18,086,243 (mover: Commissioner Mitchell; seconder: Commissioner Applewhite) — outcome: approved unanimously. - Motion to adopt the 0.3861 voter-approval tax rate (mover: Commissioner Mitchell; seconder: Commissioner Applewhite) — outcome: approved unanimously.

Budget amendments and related votes Later in the meeting the court approved two budget amendments that the county treasurer/staff presented: line-item movements in road and bridge to cover overtime for disaster response and material purchases, and general fund transfers to cover higher commitment fees, sheriff’s holiday and overtime pay adjustments, and a $42,000 transfer from contingency to cover inmate feeding costs for the remainder of the year. Those amendments were approved by motion (mover: Commissioner Mitchell; seconder: Commissioner Applewhite) and carried unanimously.

Context and constraints The court said county fund balances were approximately $12 million (the judge clarified remarks about a prior $13 million balance), and that the county carries roughly $80 million in debt tied to voter-approved projects; the county receives annual TxDOT payments cited at about $8.43 million to pay debt service on the loop. The judge emphasized the court did not increase county employee salaries in this budget year.

What happens next The budget and tax-rate decisions are now on record and posted on the county website, the court said. County staff indicated tax-collection reports from the vendor Purdue will follow in coming weeks and that implementation tasks (procurement for radios, street-repair contracting and transfers to cover inmate food) will proceed under the approved budget.

Ending Court members thanked county staff for work on the budget and said they will continue to pursue economic development to expand the tax base while monitoring costs.