Maverick County adopts $29.9 million FY2025 budget and sets tax rate at 0.394529

Unidentified Speaker 1, presenting on behalf of the court on Sept. 26, 2024, proposed a balanced fiscal year 2025 budget totaling $29,887,502 and outlined key additions and funding sources. "A budget that is balanced, in the total amount of $29,887,502," the presenter said, and noted roughly $2,100,000 in support coming from the newly created Maverick County Housing Finance Corporation (HFC).

The court approved changes that increase employee longevity pay and add public-safety and frontline staffing. The presenter proposed increasing longevity for employees with more than three years of service to $15 per month and providing $8 per month to employees with less than three years. The court said the longevity payments are expected to be distributed in November or December.

The budget also includes three additional deputies, one deputy corporal and one dispatcher for the sheriff’s department; roughly $433,000 set aside countywide for repairs and maintenance (including about $100,000 for parks and facilities); an $80,000 allocation for engineering services for precinct projects; and approximately $220,000 in parks and facilities maintenance funding. The presenter said about $20,000 was added for the county’s share of equipment at the joint Emergency Operations Center with the City of Eagle Pass and that roughly $19,000 in grant funding had been identified to offset EOC equipment purchases.

Road and bridge accounts were increased by roughly $200,000 and equally distributed to all four precincts, the presenter said, and the court has submitted four grants targeting road reconstructions, including Rosita Valley Road and Old Pioneer (El Pioneer) Road. The presenter also noted an item related to the Sol Ross road-construction project and said final approvals will follow negotiations with a four-year university partner.

On a procedural point, the presenter identified a clerical oversight in an airport operating-supplies line item and said the difference (about $15,100) would be adjusted from the deficit fund as a credit and reprinted after auditors complete revisions. The presenter asked commissioners to review updated pages after the auditors finalize edits.

Following discussion, Commissioner Ramos moved to proceed with adoption of the FY2025 budget; Commissioner Rios seconded. The court voted to adopt the budget after the motion and second were recorded. The presenter said auditors will finalize changes and the budget will be uploaded for public review once those edits are complete.

The court then considered Item 21, the property tax rate for fiscal 2025, with Unidentified Speaker 1 listing the proposed total rate as 0.394529 (0.083082 to interest and sinking; 0.31145 to maintenance and operations). "The tax rate ... is listed at a total tax rate of 0.394529," the presenter said, noting that the proposed rate exceeds the known new-revenue threshold and therefore required a record vote and a 60% approval threshold. Commissioner Veil moved to adopt the tax rate, Commissioner Morales seconded, and the transcript records a unanimous vote to adopt the 0.394529 rate.

The court also approved a series of routine consent items: budget amendments for FY2024 (Item 35), accounts payable (Item 36), an item listed in the transcript as Item 37, and then adjourned. Motions and seconders for those items were recorded in the minutes and no dissent was noted on the record.

Why it matters: The adopted budget establishes the county’s spending plan and staffing levels for the coming year and the tax rate determines the county’s property-tax revenue; together these actions set county priorities for infrastructure, public safety, parks and emergency preparedness and put the finalized documents on track to be posted publicly after auditor revisions.

What’s next: Auditors will finalize edits and the presenter said the court will reprint and upload the approved budget for public review. The court indicated it expects additional consultant input about potential new revenue sources in the next one or two meetings.