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County judge previews tight 2025'26 budget, says tax rate may rise amid low appraisals
Summary
Lavaca County Judge outlined fiscal pressures for the 2025'26 budget, including low appraisal values, previously approved EMS expansions and rising agency costs; he said a proposed tax rate will be released by August 1 and the court will discuss it publicly at the Aug. 11 meeting.
The Lavaca County Judge told the Commissioners Court that the county faces fiscal pressure for the 2025'26 budget and that proposed tax-rate documentation will be posted for the public by August 1 if possible.
The judge said recent appraisal values placed the county at the "no-new-revenue" position and provided the court's planning benchmarks: a no-new-revenue rate of 0.5124 and a voter-approval rate of 0.5497. He said the county's present effective rate is about 0.5132, which is essentially the no-new-revenue level.
The judge reviewed already-committed budget items that will constrain flexibility, including the court's prior decisions to expand emergency medical services (adding a fourth EMS unit), and recent personnel and operational changes in the sheriff's office. He credited EMS leadership and staff by name for recent improvements.
He also outlined county support for local municipalities and special districts: the county pays 100% of EMS costs across Lavaca County except for the Yoakum Emergency District and continues to operate the county jail used by four city police departments. He said the county still carries about $2 million in remaining debt on a countywide telecommunications/dispatch system the court subsidized to reduce municipal costs.
The judge warned that inflationary pressures and state policy changes are complicating local budgeting. He described state-level constraints and enforcement mechanisms tied to school funding and appraisal certification, and said Austin'level changes have reduced local flexibility. "Numbers don't lie," the judge said, adding that the court would present a proposed rate and supporting budget documentation for review.
The judge asked for the public's patience during budget deliberations and said the court will present a "state of the county" overview at its Aug. 11 meeting. He said the proposed budget and related materials will be provided to the press and public in advance when available.
No final tax-rate decision was made at the meeting; the court set the public timeline and directed staff to prepare the proposed budget materials for the August meetings.
