The recommended budget includes $1.79 million to establish a new district court, $20 million in capital improvement projects, funding for about 125 new full-time employees and more.
Commissioners will adopt an official budget Aug. 26, according to Holladay’s presentation.
The big picture
The county budget is broken down into three funds: general, road and bridge, and debt service, proposed at $375.66 million, $72.73 million and $222.7 million, respectively for FY 2025-26.
The general fund and the road and bridge fund consist of personnel, maintenance and operations, and capital costs. Funding personnel accounts for about 54% of the general budget, Holladay said.
The proposed FY 2025-26 budget would be about $35.97 million higher than the $635.13 million FY 2024-25 budget.
Staff across county departments requested a total of 114.5 new full-time positions totaling $17.3 million. Holladay recommended a budget that funds 39.5 new full-time positions, costing $5.58 million in the general fund.
Additionally, the road and bridge department requested 11 new full-time positions totaling $1.9 million, and Holladay’s presentation recommended adding four full-time positions for $383,000.
County Judge Steven Snell asked to revisit the number of new full-time positions in the road and bridge department, which is run by Senior Director of Infrastructure Bob Daigh.
“Road and bridge, obviously, is a critical function of the county,” Snell said. “I want to make sure that there's enough personnel in that department and on [Daigh’s] crews to do the work in a timely manner.”
The proposed budget also includes 2% merit salary adjustments for county and road and bridge employees, totaling just over $2 million, according to county documents.
Also on the agenda
At the meeting, Williamson County commissioners discussed possible tax rates for FY 2025-26. County Tax Assessor and Collector Larry Gaddes said his office calculates benchmark rates for officials to consider, and the tax rate combines the rates of all three funds within the county’s budget.
Gaddes said a tax rate of $0.379724 per $100 valuation would generate the same amount of revenue this year as the county received last year, assuming the same properties are taxed. The FY 2025-26 voter-approval rate, or the maximum tax rate local governments can approve without calling an election, is $0.413776 per $100 valuation, Gaddes said.
Adopting the no new revenue tax rate of $0.379724 per $100 valuation would generate $624.92 million, while adopting the voter-approval rate would generate $665.34 million, according to county documents.
The action taken
Commissioners approved a FY 2025-26 total maximum tax rate of $0.413776 per $100 valuation in a 4-0 vote, with Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long absent.
“To remind everybody, it's just a starting point,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said. “It doesn't mean that we're going to approve this. ... We can go anywhere down.”
Last year, officials set the FY 2024-25 county tax rate at $0.399999 per $100 valuation, Community Impact previously reported.
Looking ahead
Commissioners can take action on adding or deleting items from the budget office’s recommendations during Aug. 12 and Aug. 19 meetings, Holladay said.
Commissioners set a public hearing for the proposed budget and tax rate for Aug. 26 at 9:30 a.m.
The next fiscal year begins Oct. 1, according to local government code.
