Kendall County officials present balanced FY25–26 budget draft, propose $1 million committed fund for Herff Road and $800,000 in early capital purchases

County Judge Shane began a June 9 special-call workshop of the Kendall County Commissioners Court by presenting a draft FY25–26 budget that the county finance staff says would be balanced without using reserve funds and would include a contingency cushion of roughly $500,000.

The draft budget projects general-fund revenue of $49,061,392, an increase the finance staff attributed primarily to an assumed $2,000,000 rise in property-tax receipts and higher sales-tax estimates. Corinna, the county27s chief budget officer, said the property-tax estimate is an initial projection that depends on certified appraisal-district figures later this summer and that the county may need to adjust the budget if those numbers change.

Why it matters: County staff said the proposal would remove the need to draw on reserve balance to finance ordinary operations for the coming year. Corinna and the judge argued that maintaining a large fund balance will let Kendall County fund future capital projects without issuing debt and preserve local control over timing and scope of infrastructure work.

Key details: The draft contains several personnel and benefit items, including a 2% adjustment to the county salary chart, a proposed increase in the county27s PCDRS match from 1.85 to 1.95, and a proposal that the county absorb higher health and dental premiums (7.2% for health, 9% for dental) rather than pass those increases to employees. The draft also includes a proposal to initiate stipend pay for sheriff27s office personnel (night differential, FTO pay) and an allowance of $3,000 for each Justice of the Peace (JP 1, 2 and 3) to hire temporary administrative help.

Capital purchases and timing: Corinna and the judge said department heads supplied quotes showing some capital items are less expensive if purchased now rather than in October, and the court would consider moving up purchases of about $800,000 of equipment on tomorrow27s agenda. The list includes vehicles for county engineering and the extension office; IT items such as a courthouse storage server and firewall switches; purchasing software for the purchasing agent; patrol rifles, ballistic vests, tasers and AEDs for the sheriff27s office; two compactors for solid waste; a zero-turn mower for parks; and other one-time items.

Two items discussed as exceptions were 17 anti-ligature cameras (approximately $97,000) and one ambulance chassis: the cameras remain in the FY26 budget because procurement rules may require bidding or a purchasing co-op, and the county27s EMS line currently has funds to buy a chassis if the court prefers to wait.

Fund balance and a committed fund recommendation: Corinna said the county27s unassigned fund balance stood at $27,493,242 at the last report and that $7,336,985 is currently budgeted for FY25, leaving about $20,156,257 unassigned. She recommended moving $1,000,000 from general fund into a new capital-projects special fund (fund 71) and marking it as a committed fund balance for the Herff Road (labeled in materials as "Herff Road/TX 46") project so the money could not be reallocated for other general-fund needs without a court action. The court discussed that committing the money would preserve it as a dedicated capital contribution for a planned TxDOT project.

Reserve target and long-term planning: The county27s written fund-balance policy (adopted in 2011) sets a 25%–30% minimum; Corinna said her recommendation is a 35% minimum and the judge expressed support for a 40% reserve target to prepare for large infrastructure contributions and to avoid recurring reliance on reserves. The judge and finance staff repeatedly emphasized the goal of becoming debt free over roughly the next six to seven years, subject to existing bond schedules.

Revenue caveats and schedule: Finance staff cautioned that the $2,000,000 property-tax increase is an assumption and depends on certified appraisal-district data, which is not final until the district certifies the tax roll later in the summer. The court set a budget-workshop schedule (meetings June 12 and follow-up hearings the next week) and identified June 12 agenda items, and staff noted key deadlines for insurance renewals and other vendor deadlines (TAC renewal June 26 was mentioned).

No formal action: The June 9 meeting was a workshop; no formal vote or adoption of the FY25–26 budget occurred. County staff said many of the items discussed will appear on the next court agenda for formal consideration. Corinna said the capital outlay purchases would be listed individually in the budget-adjustment packet the court would consider the following day.

Ending: Court members agreed to continue the discussion in scheduled workshops and to bring detailed budget-adjustment items to the next public meeting for formal action.