Hood County adopts FY2026 budget, keeps tax rate at $0.2797; court approves a series of routine interlocal agreements
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Summary
Hood County Commissioners unanimously adopted the fiscal year 2026 budget and set the property tax rate at $0.2797 per $100 valuation after public hearings and line‑item adjustments; the court also approved event permits, interlocal agreements, acceptance of YMCA sale proceeds, and other administrative items.
Hood County’s Commissioners Court on Sept. 9 approved the fiscal year 2026 budget and set the county property tax rate at $0.2797 per $100 valuation following a public hearing and line‑by‑line discussion of capital requests and staffing items. The record vote on the budget and the subsequent roll‑call adoption of the tax rate were unanimous.
The court considered public input during the budget hearing and discussed multiple capital needs, including sheriff vehicles, animal‑control equipment, road‑operations dump trucks, and radio infrastructure. Commissioners and staff also debated whether to place one‑time proceeds from the sale of the county’s YMCA building into a dedicated capital fund; the court voted to accept $5.4 million from that sale into Fund 55 for future capital uses.
The meeting included votes on routine event and interlocal items. Motions approved during the session included authorization for the county judge to sign City of Granbury event applications for Oktoberfest and the Granbury Wine Celebration; interlocal agreements for animal control services with six municipalities; continued participation in the regional public defender program for capital cases; and an interlocal cooperation contract with Pecan Valley MHMR to allow reimbursement of transport mileage (a $20,000 reimbursement account). The court also approved a DebtBook contract management module for procurement and amended brush yard fees to charge by trailer length.
Commissioners tabled the 2026 salary matrix for further work rather than approving it at the meeting. The court approved payments of county invoices (the auditor presented the packet) after pulling one purchasing item for further IT review.
"Motion carries unanimous 5 0," County Judge Ron Massengale announced following the budget motion and subsequent votes, underscoring the court’s consensus on the package of items before it. The court recessed and then adjourned at 12:10 p.m.
What’s next: the court left several items for follow‑up, including final contract language and credits for a stalled camera installation contract (the Flock contract), details for any proposed EMS interlocal with Pecan Plantation, and the tabling of the personnel salary matrix for additional work.
