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Scurry County tax collector warns postage hikes will push budget request higher
Summary
At a Scurry County budget workshop, the tax collector told commissioners that recent postal-rate increases and high mailing volumes for mineral and property statements likely require increasing the postage line from the $25,000 penciled in to roughly $30,000–$35,000; vendors and discounts mean final costs remain uncertain.
Speaker 6, Unidentified, the tax collector, told Scurry County commissioners that recent postal-rate increases and the county’s heavy mailing load will likely push her office’s postage budget higher than originally requested. "Last year, I spent $20,226," she said. "I set it at $25,000 for this year, but with the postage going up 5¢ and the volume — 98,700 mineral statements and tens of thousands of real estate notices — I think we need to go to $30,000 or more."
The county’s budget presenter (Speaker 1) and other commissioners pressed for clarity on vendor discounts and whether the vendor will pass along the full per-piece increase. Speaker 6 said her office outsources pre-sorted mail and receives discounted rates but has not yet received an updated vendor estimate; she said some statements contain many accounts for a single owner, which raises postage more than a simple count would suggest.
Commissioners discussed conservative budgeting to avoid shortfalls in the fall mail-out and settled on increasing the postage contingency for review; Speaker 3 suggested a safer request of $30,000 and Speaker 4 and others advised rounding to larger increments to avoid mid-year amendments. Speaker 6 said she will follow up with her vendor and return with an updated estimate at the next budget meeting.
The discussion underscored two practical constraints: (1) statutory requirements force some statements to be mailed individually by owner, and (2) volume fluctuations related to mineral-account ownership and appraisal changes make precise forecasting difficult. Commissioners asked staff to provide vendor-confirmed postage totals before the adoption date so the board can finalize the appropriation.
