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Chambers County accepts 2024 audit, posts proposed 2025 tax rate and schedules 2026 budget hearing
Summary
County auditors issued a clean opinion on the 2024 financial statements; commissioners set a proposed tax rate of 0.439746 per $100 and scheduled a public hearing on the 2026 budget after a presentation of personnel increases, capital needs, and fund balances.
Chambers County commissioners on Sept. 9 accepted the county’s 2024 audited financial statements and single audit and set a proposed tax rate for the 2025 tax year while scheduling a public hearing on the 2026 budget.
A supervisor from accounting firm Pattillo Brown & Hill presented the audit, saying the firm issued an unmodified opinion on the county’s financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024. "In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects," the Pattillo Brown & Hill representative told the court, and the presenters reported no material weaknesses in the financial-statement audit. The separate schedule of expenditures of federal awards showed roughly $5.3 million in federal awards tested and about $2.9 million in state awards.
Following the presentation the court moved and accepted the audit by voice vote.
County staff then presented a proposed tax rate of 0.439746 per $100 of assessed value (about 43.97 cents). Staff explained that rate is slightly above the county’s 'no-new-revenue' rate but below the voter-approval threshold; commissioners voted to publish the proposed rate and to set a public hearing date in September for the tax rate and to adopt the tax rate at a future meeting.
Budget staff provided an overview of the 2026 budget: a proposed 3% cost‑of‑living increase for county employees, a 3% increase in health-insurance premiums, plans to hire nine new positions across departments, capital purchases including new radios and 14 sheriff’s vehicles (partially covered by SB22 funds), and proposed EMS capital at just over $1 million for ambulances and equipment. Staff reported the general-fund balance at about $49.7 million, with roughly $13.6 million committed for projects such as the Anewak Library and Chambers Parkway Community Center.
The court approved posting materials for the public hearing and moved the budget toward final adoption at a future session.
