Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Budget Overview topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Trinity County leaders aim to hold tax rate steady, push departmental cuts and clarify city contract risk
Summary
At a Trinity County budget workshop officials emphasized avoiding a tax increase, praised department-level sacrifices to hold rates steady, discussed uniform cuts for constables and training/fuel reductions, and debated accounting for two city-funded officers whose contract may end in April.
County leaders at a Trinity County budget workshop reiterated a commitment not to raise local tax rates while tracing multiple pressure points in the FY2026 draft budget, including higher insurance and utility costs and uncertain intergovernmental revenue.
“Y’all have paid enough,” Speaker 1 said at the session, thanking department heads for trimming budgets to avoid a tax increase. Speakers flagged rising insurance and hospital costs and noted that several departments had already made cuts.
The court discussed parity among constables’ precinct budgets. Speaker 3 urged that all constables’ allocations be kept equal and proposed modest shared cuts such as trimming fuel and reducing training budgets by about $500 per precinct to achieve savings. Bonnie (Speaker 5) confirmed that matching cuts across precincts could free roughly $6,000 if two constables matched reductions.
Officials also debated how to treat two deputies funded under a city contract. The court agreed it should budget for those positions through the contract’s end date rather than assume renewal; if the city stops payments the county would need a budget amendment to avoid an unplanned draw on general funds. Speaker 5 said she entered the city‑contracted deputies’ salaries into the FY2026 draft for the full year because the court has not received notice that the city will cancel the contract.
Several speakers emphasized better management and use of comp time to control costs. Speaker 4 suggested a policy requiring comp time to be used within a month; others noted federal rules and distinctions for law enforcement comp time accruals. The group discussed timing differences between city contract years and the county fiscal year and the need to handle revenue and salary posting carefully in the ledger.
No formal budget adoption occurred during the workshop. The court asked staff to finalize entries, monitor variable costs such as insurance and unemployment, and return with any required amendments before the final budget adoption.
