Travis County Commissioners have unanimously approved the fiscal year 2018-19 budget and tax rate for Central Health, the county’s health care district. The $258 million budget approved Tuesday includes $26 million in funds for Central Health’s nonprofit health care plan, Sendero Health Plans.

The action is set against the backdrop of a series of recent decisions about the future of Sendero. A 4-3 vote by Central Health’s board of managers on Sept. 12 to end the nonprofit health plan was contested by community members, and Travis County Commissioners postponed a budget and tax rate vote originally scheduled for Sept. 18.

The board of managers called a special meeting Sept. 22, which resulted in the reversal of all opposing votes, overturning approval of Central Health’s fiscal year 2018-19 budget and allocating additional funds to the nonprofit they had originally voted to disband.

“I remain in support of the Central Health board,” County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said. “You all know the risk and the benefit of the decisions that come before your board better than I will ever know. I trust you. I do not seek that this Commissioners Court would supplant the Central Health board.”

Central Health’s budget is $20 million above the FY 2017-18 budget. The tax rate—$0.1052 per $100 of taxable value—is slightly lower than last year’s tax rate—$0.1074 per $100 of taxable value.

The 2019 property tax rate is 6 percent over the effective tax rate. The estimated property tax bill for the average homestead is $343.97, which is a 4.8 percent increase. This means residents could see, on average, a $15.67 increase in the portion of property taxes allocated for Central Health.