Ellis County judge calls for external "deep-dive" audit after $6 million budget discrepancy

County Judge Ray announced to the commissioners court that Patillo, Brown and Hill identified a substantial discrepancy in the county's FY2026 budget and that the adopted budget had underestimated tax revenue by about $6,000,000.

Reading from the independent audit report, the judge said the audit calculated projected tax revenue at roughly $106,000,000 while the adopted FY2026 budget recorded about $100,000,000. "Ellis County appears to have collected significantly more tax money than it budgeted to spend over the last 4 years, and we cannot account for where the money went," the judge said, and stated he had alerted the district attorney about the matter.

The judge said he and commissioners had already implemented staffing and software changes in the auditor's office and that the court would now seek an external, forensic-style audit to "find answers" about prior budgets and unaccounted-for revenue. He described the move as a cautious, investigative step and urged the public not to "rush to judgment," saying his initial view was that the issues stemmed from "good faith human error."

Commissioners on the court expressed support for pursuing the deeper review and thanked the judge for initiating it. The court did not vote on contract engagement at the meeting; Judge Ray said he would "immediately begin searching for an appropriate audit firm" and bring a proposal and projected cost back to the court for consideration.

Why this matters: The judge characterized the gap as material enough to warrant an outside forensic review and he has notified prosecutors. The court said the findings will guide proposed changes to budget oversight and staffing in the auditor's office moving forward.