Williamson County budget committee weighs cuts, one-time transfers and new state grants to avoid a tax increase

The Williamson County Budget Committee met June 2, 2026, to take public comment and weigh options to fund a proposed 4% pay raise for county and school employees while avoiding a proposed 3-cent property tax increase that would set the countywide levy at $1.33.

At the opening public-comment period Beverly Pervvis, president of the Williamson County Education Association, urged commissioners to support the district budget and to find space for teacher pay increases. "I'm here to ask you guys to support the budget for the district," Pervvis said, adding that not getting a raise "will mean that it feels like a step backwards." Her remarks concluded before the committee moved into its staff presentations.

Committee members recited figures from the draft package and discussed possible steps to close a remaining gap in the school and county budgets. Staff described the numbers several times from a color-coded spreadsheet prepared for the committee and called out two newly available state funding streams as material to the outlook. Jason, speaking on behalf of the school system, summarized recent changes: the state "single letter grade" pot that produced $4 million last year had been expected to provide less this year but state budget adjustments and a Department of Treasury maintenance grant together increased the district's near-term revenue by roughly $1.6 million, plus roughly $1.025 million based on $25 per student. "That has increased our revenue by about $1.6 million," Jason said.

Budget staff (Phoebe) walked the committee through options that shrink the overall gap. Among the measures discussed were: forgiving roughly $1 million in school energy-debt payments for the year; asking the county commission to reduce the CVB (Convention & Visitors Bureau) allocation from 25% to 20% of hotel/motel tax receipts (staff estimated that shift would free about $400,000); reducing the county's per-person budgeted insurance contribution by $250 (estimated to save roughly $1.346 million on the school side); shifting one or two "pennies" of the property tax base between funds (staff said a penny equals about $2.6–$2.8 million depending on the fund); and deferring capital purchases such as ambulances to preserve operating capacity.

Phoebe summarized the result of those options as reducing the shortfall from roughly $19.8 million down to about $7.3 million after identified revenue and proposed adjustments. "We are now looking at a gap of $7.3 million down from the 19.8 by doing those few options and also with the numbers that are coming in a little higher than we had projected," she said, cautioning that many steps would require commission votes or carry recurring fiscal trade-offs.

Several commissioners warned that cutting the CVB or other revenue-generating entities could lower future receipts. Commissioner Mason, the sole county commission representative at the meeting from the CVB, said the bureau "generates money and the money that it generates reduces the tax debt per household," and cautioned that reducing CVB support could depress future tourism dollars and thus reduce long-term revenue.

Committee members also debated whether to trim the proposed 4% raise slightly to preserve fund balance. Staff said each 0.25 percentage point reduction in the pay increase could restore roughly $1.2–$1.3 million to fund balances, a step some commissioners suggested as a compromise between service levels and fiscal cushioning.

Formal action at the meeting was limited. The committee approved a $6,200 intra-budget transfer (moving funds from travel, communication and gas to equipment) by voice vote with no recorded nay votes. A separate resolution to set the tax levy for fiscal year 2026–27 was discussed but not voted on; staff noted the committee could not adopt the levy at this hearing because the item had been advertised as a public hearing only.

Staff were directed to prepare the necessary resolutions for filing by the upcoming Thursday deadline and to return to the committee and full commission for votes before final adoption. The committee adjourned after giving staff guidance on the mix of options to include in those draft resolutions.

The budget discussions will continue at the committee and at the June 18 commission meeting, with commissioners expected to weigh whether to approve a package that avoids a tax increase this year at the cost of shifting one-time or recurring revenue and reducing some program reserves.