Budget office outlines FY26 budget registers and constraints; warns voter-approval tax-rate cap limits room for new spending

Budget and Finance staff presented an overview of El Paso County's FY26 budget registers on April 21, detailing items already committed, requests proposed for restoration, potential future commitments, grant-match obligations and alternative-funded items.

Gabby Federal said the budget register contained roughly $5.5 million in items the court previously approved; the restore register (items deferred from FY25) totaled $6.15 million in potential restorations. A new grant-match application register listed applications requiring county cash matches; another register captured items with alternative funding sources such as equipment lease-purchase arrangements or state loans for roadwork. Gabby noted that if all items shown were approved for FY26 the tax-rate impact would be roughly the equivalent of a nickel on the tax rate, but Texas' voter-approval (rollback) calculation limits increases to 3.5% (approximately a penny under current assumptions), constraining how much of the registers could be funded without voter approval.

Nut graf: The presentation was an early planning step in the FY26 budget process; staff asked commissioners to continue prioritizing items because state legislative proposals and property tax valuation changes will affect the voter-approval tax-rate calculation and thus the county's capacity to add commitments without a voter election.

Ending: Staff said grants division will present detailed grant-match information in May; budget staff will continue working with the county administrator and auditor to refine projections and present options to the court during budget hearings.

The court received the presentation; no formal appropriations were adopted during the meeting.