Guadalupe County judge proposes 4% tax increase as commissioners weigh staffing, fire funding and emergency road repairs

Guadalupe County’s judge on Monday presented a recommended fiscal year 2026 budget that would set a proposed property-tax rate of 3.304 per $100 of taxable value — about a 4% increase over the current rate — generating an estimated $5.7 million in additional property-tax revenue.

The recommended spending plan covers pay adjustments, dozens of new positions, capital projects including a planned emergency operations center and fire station using American Rescue Plan Act money, and sizable road and facility work. The court spent most of the day debating whether to reallocate funds, add positions, or modestly increase the proposed tax rate to meet requests from volunteer fire departments, constable and justice-of-the-peace offices, and other county services.

Why it matters: county leaders said the proposal tries to balance pay and staffing shortfalls, rising operating costs and a long list of capital needs while retaining a fund balance sufficient to cover seasonal revenue timing and emergency expenses.

Most important details - Tax rate and notice: The judge said the proposed rate is 3.304; the county’s current rate is about 3.167 and the “no-new-revenue” rate computed this year is roughly 3.177. Officials said state-required notice language will show the proposed budget “will raise more revenue from property taxes than last year’s budget by an amount of $5,632,783.” The court will formally publish a proposed (not-to-exceed) rate at its August 12 meeting and hold final budget and tax-rate votes on Sept. 2.

- Personnel and compensation: The recommended budget would add about 33 positions (the presenter said the count varies slightly with retitling) — concentrated in public safety (about two dozen positions), plus infrastructure, judicial and other offices. A 3% across-the-board cost-of-living increase is included and was estimated to cost the county…