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Ellis County commissioners consider adding 1–2 mills to 2026 budget amid rising costs
Summary
County administrator presented options to exceed the revenue-neutral rate for 2026, citing capital needs and rising personnel and insurance costs; commissioners agreed to continue the discussion and include the option on next week's agenda.
Darren Myers, Ellis County administrator, told commissioners on July 8 that the county will need to decide whether to include a mill-levy increase in the 2026 budget and that any decision to exceed the revenue-neutral rate must be reflected in the county clerk's notice by July 20.
"As we start or continue to progress through our budget, next week on the fifteenth, you'll see the second draft of the overall operating budget and the first draft of your capital budget," Myers said. He added, "we have to notify the county clerk by July 20" if the commission intends to exceed the revenue-neutral rate.
Myers outlined several cost pressures and capital needs: potential remodeling of the law enforcement center, a new or remodeled EMS facility in Ellis, replacement of many courthouse HVAC fan-coil units, rising insurance costs and planned employee pay adjustments. He presented rough taxpayer impacts for planning purposes: a single mill is about $23 per $100,000 of assessed value; for a $200,000 home he estimated one mill would be roughly $46 and two mills roughly $92; a mill on 40 acres of productive agricultural land is about $7.50.
Commissioners discussed trade-offs and the county's historical approach to the mill levy. One commissioner emphasized the need to avoid cutting services and suggested engaging cities and the school district on longer-term revenue options, including a possible sales-tax approach when current sales-tax measures expire. Commissioners agreed to continue the discussion at the next meeting and to include an option to exceed the revenue-neutral rate in the forthcoming revenue-neutral-rate notice to promote transparency; no formal vote to raise the levy was taken.
Myers and commissioners stressed that placing a mill increase in the draft notice would not finalize the budget: the final budget remains subject to the August publication and a September vote. The commission left the mill-levy option on the agenda for continued review and public visibility.
