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Kerr County judge files second-edition proposed budget; wage increase options tied to FEMA numbers
Summary
At a special Aug. 4 meeting, the County Judge outlined a second-edition proposed FY2025'926 budget to be filed by Aug. 8 that holds the tax rate at last year's level while accounting for disaster costs. Commissioners discussed wage-adjustment options (2.5%, 2%, 1.5%) and deferred road projects pending FEMA updates.
Kerr County's County Judge presented a second-edition proposed budget Monday, saying he would file the document on Aug. 8 and continue budget work at a scheduled workshop on Aug. 13 and a public hearing and vote on Aug. 25.
The judge said the second edition "is what I proposed to file on Friday as a proposed budget." He emphasized that the version he circulated kept the county tax rate the same as last year and included disaster-related estimates.
Why this matters: the proposed budget includes a $10,000,000 placeholder for FEMA-related capital projects and repairs; the judge said estimates of damaged county roads already "exceed 7 and a half to $8,000,000" and that the $10,000,000 amount could be reduced after FEMA determinations. He said including the $10,000,000 placeholder, the county's projected expenditures were about $71,000,000 and would create roughly a $12,500,000 deficit under that scenario, reducing the fund balance toward about 20% from roughly 32%.
Budget details discussed at the meeting included a $2,000,000 estimate for uncollectible property taxes, another $2,000,000 to cover a 25% local match on an assumed $10,000,000 of FEMA capital projects, and a $500,000 insurance estimate. The judge said commissioners had identified about $1,400,000 of road-and-bridge capital projects to defer; Road and Bridge equipment financing of roughly $2,300,000 was included to spread payments over time.
On staffing and wages: the judge said his proposed budget included multiple requested positions and pay adjustments but had not included certain sheriff requests he opposed earlier. He said the proposed budget "included requested new hires" such as an adoption/shelter coordinator, kennel technician, court administrator increase, payroll specialist, and other positions previously discussed. For pay adjustments, the proposed-filed budget contained a 2.5% wage adjustment. HR Director Sylvia Zapata presented alternate scenarios, including a 2% option, and commissioners discussed 2.5%, 2% and smaller adjustments such as 1.5% as fallback calculations.
The judge and staff repeatedly said additional FEMA information could materially change the budget math. Commissioner Jones (liaison to Road & Bridge) told the court that a FEMA meeting later in the day would refine the county's obligations and could reduce the $10,000,000 placeholder by an estimated $6,000,000. The judge instructed staff to prepare more detailed breakdowns of the FEMA estimate so commissioners could identify additional savings.
Process and next steps: the judge said the second-edition document would be filed on Friday to meet statutory publication deadlines, but that the court could revise the budget after that filing if needed. He scheduled a workshop on Aug. 13 for final tweaks and set a public hearing and vote for Aug. 25. The court recessed to reconvene the following morning to continue wage-adjustment discussion; if necessary, a special session could be posted for Friday morning.
Ending: No final vote on the wage adjustment occurred on Aug. 4. The county judge filed the second-edition proposed budget as the default filing if the court did not reach agreement before the statutory deadline.
