In a nutshell
At an Aug. 4 budget workshop, Fort Bend County staff recommended nearly $743.97 million in expenditures for the FY 2025-26 budget, a 1.7% increase from FY 2024-25. However, Director of Finance and Investments Pamela Gubbels said the increase could jump to 3.3% if commissioners add $10 million for post-employment benefits and another $3 million in department requests.
Budget requests from the departments initially had proposed budget expenditures at $845.7 million, a 15.6% increase from the previous fiscal year, she said.
Additionally, the finance department is recommending that the county and drainage district retain their combined $0.422 per $100 valuation tax rate, although it will still result in an average increase of $29 for a $423,000 home due to increased property valuations, Gubbels said.
The rate would be below the no-new-revenue rate of $0.428716, which is the rate that would generate the same property tax revenue as the year prior, according to budget documents.
A closer look
The largest budget debate includes the number of associate courts to be funded as a part of the budget, as the county awaits a decision from lawmakers for two additional district courts as part of the state’s special legislative session.
The staff recommended scenario includes spending nearly $1.73 million for five associate district courts and the two new district courts, which would eliminate three associate judges and two court coordinator positions, Gubbels said.
Other scenarios include:
- $1.98 million for six associate courts and two new district courts
- $2.54 million for seven associate courts and two new district courts
- $4.3 million for eight associate courts and two new district courts
What else?
Additionally, the county is considering spending $38.33 million in FY 2025-26 on its five-year capital improvement program, including:
- Countywide enterprise resource planning update ($9.15 million)
- Software licensing ($6.45 million)
- West Park vehicle maintenance facility and fuel island ($3.19 million)
- Digital evidence management for the district attorney ($1.62 million)
Fort Bend County commissioners are set to adopt the FY 2025-26 budget and property tax rate Sept. 23, according to county documents. The FY 2025-26 budget will begin Oct. 1.
