Hays County sets tax rate, approves proposed budget
The Hays County Commissioners Court considered the creation of a committee to gather and distribute information for the 2024 transportation road bond election at its Aug. 20 meeting, but ultimately, no action was taken.
The proposed committee, presented by Chief of Staff Alex Villalobos, follows the commissioners court’s 5-0 vote on Aug. 13 to bring a $440 million road bond package to the November ballot. This focuses on projects already in the planning process to ensure continuity of projects and includes shovel-ready projects; the selected projects will address substandard roadways to improve safety and increase capacity, according to Hays County. Increasing commuter safety, mitigating congestion and creating regional connectivity are goals of the road bond as Hays County continues to grow.
“The spirit and idea behind this [committee] is to gather an appointed person from each one of your precincts.
Each one of you would appoint someone to gather information for communication, the idea for the constituents to be able to communicate with them, bring forward and collate that information and then, possibly educate not only you as a court as from your constituents, but also the general public about the bond,” Villalobos said.
Villalobos echoed that this committee would be a form of education and open communication throughout the community regarding the road bond. He added that this has been good practice as seen in previous efforts, including that of the 2020 Parks & Open Spaces Bond.
However, commissioner Walt Smith noted that this is different compared to what the county did for the parks bond.
“The commission set up for the parks bond worked for almost two years prior to that parks bond to develop those projects and to actually not only get background on them, but to do the evaluation on those projects and then move them forward. What we are talking about is we have already voted to go to the bond and so — I'll just be very honest — asking the general public for additional feedback to make changes, statutorily, we are past that point,” Smith said.
It’s the job of elected officials to do that education, Smith explained, and he encouraged his colleagues to go talk to groups and garner every piece of feedback that they can.
“I don't know about empowering a member of the general public to speak on behalf of the county for a couple of reasons. The first and most important, the education and outreach portion that we do on behalf of the bond, anything that is developed through that process and then put forth or shared with the public, that becomes part of the contract with the voter,” Smith continued. “If I was asked today to try to name a citizen that understands each one of the projects or could go out and answer the questions related to the projects, that are occurring in my precinct, that is really my job as commissioner to answer those questions and to go out and talk about what this project [is], the purpose behind it and the reasoning behind it.”
Another commissioner, Michelle Cohen, agreed with Smith’s sentiments and stated that the proposed committee seems after-the-fact to her.
“As a commissioner in my office, I'm already doing that outreach and having these discussions with the members of my precinct.
That’s already ongoing. So, I'm a little confused on the purpose of this … I think each of us have our own plans and we know our constituents. We know our projects. We are the most informed person about our project,” she said. “I just don't see how a committee would help, unless it is the judge's office that needs more information to put out countywide, then that is something else. I think we are all doing our own, within our offices, to do that. It does seem afterthe- fact. I would have loved to see some of this prior to, but we’ve made the vote and we are already here.”
The proposed committee would be another avenue or level of communication for the constituents, Villalobos said, as there has been some confusion regarding the bond.
“It is just another avenue of making sure that the constituents of the county have the opportunity to ask those questions if they are confused through any communication through your office or anyone you are making points to,” he said.
Commissioner Lon Shell said that he understands everybody’s points and the projects can be difficult to explain, even though the county has been working on them for at least 10 years.
While he does not have any issues regarding the communication component, Shell said that he would like more information on the format of the meetings or discussions of the committee and the individuals involved.
He also mentioned having an expert there to explain the history of each project.
Smith concluded the court’s discussion on the item by stating that he has fielded 20-30 calls of him being asked to attend transportation commission, chamber, city, homeowners association and other meetings. He said that at this point, he doesn’t think any of those requests have been turned down; while scheduling some might not be the easiest, he thinks every commissioner would be willing to do any of the meetings.
“If there are specific concerns that your office is hearing that they want us to be there or to sit down and talk about this historical data related to some of these projects or how we arrived at them,” Smith explained, “I think any of us would be willing to do that or we wouldn’t have voted for that bond package last week.”
No action was taken on the proposed committee, but it is possible that it will be brought up again at a future meeting.
Budget & Tax Rate
The commissioners court voted 5-0 to set the proposed rate at $0.35 per $100 valuation; the proposed budget and elected official salaries and allowances were also approved.
The tax rate — which is a jump from the Fiscal Year 2024 rate of $0.3075 and the FY 2023 rate of $0.3125 — aims to address critical areas of need in Hays County, according to a news release. This includes, according to Hays County Budget Officer Vickie Dorsett, the following:
• Increased funding for Collective Bargaining Market Adjustments for a total of $5 million in an effort to recruit and retain law enforcement staff
• Added to the road & bridge tax rate in order to address critical road infrastructure needs throughout the county
• Created a family liaison position under the Judicial Services Division in order to have a consistent staff member as a liaison for communication between those incarcerated and their loved ones
• Expanded pre-trial diversion programs to reduce recidivism “Hays County continues to experience unprecedented growth and with this growth comes the need for safe communities, infrastructure and road improvements. While the FY 25 proposed budget does include a tax rate increase, the overall tax rate of $0.35 is lower than the 1995 tax rate by 6.52 cents,” said Dorsett. “The Hays County Commissioners Court has made it a priority to maintain a low tax rate for our citizens. With our continued growth and conservative budget approach, the county continues to offer a high level of service and safe communities for our citizens.”
An additional hearing will be held at 1 p.m. on Sept. 3 and a final hearing on the proposed FY 25 budget and tax rate will be held at 1 p.m. on Sept. 17 at the Hays County Courthouse.
For more information about the budget, visit www.hayscountytx. com/budget-office. To listen to the Aug. 20 commissioners court meeting, visit www. hayscountytx.gov/ commissioners-courtlive-
stream.
