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Comal County judge unveils proposed 2027 budget, recommends 0.305015 tax rate and employee COLA
Summary
The county judge presented a proposed 2027 budget that keeps the tax rate at 0.305015 per $100 valuation, includes a 4% cost-of-living adjustment for employees and elected officials, targeted law-enforcement adjustments, and uses reserves to fund capital priorities. Public hearings are set for Aug. 20 and Sept. 3.
Comal County's judge presented the recommended 2027 budget at the commissioners court meeting on Aug. 6, telling the court the proposal keeps the county's tax rate at 0.305015 per $100 valuation and includes personnel and capital investments.
"I am proposing that we have a 4% COLA," the county judge said, adding that the proposal covers current and new positions and elected officials. The judge also outlined a targeted 2% salary adjustment for law-enforcement positions, which the presentation estimated at about $657,000, and a proposed 3% cost-of-living adjustment for retirees estimated at $164,000.
The judge said the recommended tax rate sits slightly above the state-calculated no-new-revenue rate and below the voter-approval rate, and noted that changes in state exemptions (Senate Bill 9) and a recent one-time sales-tax influx make the no-new-revenue calculation confusing this year. "When I say the no new revenue rate is misleading," the judge said, "there are lots of things that happen on these worksheets that we calculate every year."
The presentation included a chart of revenues and expenditures and the judge said the budget relies on a portion of reserves to fund capital items, including jail facility design and tax-office renovation. The court set public hearings on the budget and tax rate for Aug. 20 at 8:30 a.m. and on the adopted proposed tax rate at the Sept. 3 meeting in the Commissioner's Courtroom at 100 Main Plaza.
Commissioners praised staff work on the budget and asked questions about the slide details. One commissioner noted the slide language that the budget would "raise more than total property taxes than last year's budget by $1,865,874 or 1.7%" appeared confusing; the judge agreed the statutory reporting requirement produces awkward statements and said attorneys had reviewed the slide. The judge said future courts may face different choices depending on taxable-value growth.
The court did not adopt the budget at the Aug. 6 meeting; it approved moving forward with public notice and hearings. The judge said the court will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget on Aug. 20 and expects to vote on adoption later in the month.
