After several adjustments made during the Aug. 12 discussion, the total budget presented by Budget Officer Amanda Carter includes a preliminary estimate of $289.97 million in property tax revenue. Carter projected a no-new-revenue tax rate of $0.3693 per $100 valuation, which would raise the same amount of revenue as the previous year.
The preliminary voter-approval tax rate is $0.3941 per $100 of evaluation, which would be the tax rate above which a voter-approved tax rate election must be held. The FY 2024-25 tax rate was $0.379 per $100 valuation.
Tax Assessor/Collector Tammy McRae also said the court could consider using investment income toward its fund balance, and commissioners agreed to use $6 million in a one-time action that could be evaluated again in future years.
Dig deeper
In the first day of budget discussions, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office also presented the results from a study in pay parity in the department, proposing a step program that would raise the salaries of law enforcement officers to bring them more in line those in with Harris County.
Chief Deputy Jonathan Zitzmann told commissioners the goals of the program are recruiting, retaining and rewarding officers.
“It’s important we don’t face some kind of exodus in Montgomery County,” said Matt Gray, Montgomery County Precinct 4 commissioner.
Under the proposed plan, pay would be based on years of service and include several incentives for specialized functions and advanced certifications.
Under the proposed four-year plan for deputies, for example, a deputy with under four years of service—for whom the annual pay is currently $60,528—would see increases to FY 2028-29 up to $101,296, which is 116% of city of Houston pay at the same level, according to the presentation. Higher levels for deputies with more experience were also outlined, up to $123,344 for FY 2028-29 for a deputy with 16 or more years in service. Plans were also outlined for detectives, lieutenants and command staff.
Zitzmann said there was already $9 million slated in the preliminary budget for 2025-26 for the pay parity plan, which would begin to hit paychecks in October if approved. It does not include contracts such as the ones with The Woodlands Township and Willis ISD, he said.
Next steps
Montgomery County budget workshops continued through the week, with Wednesday’s schedule including departments such as the tax assessor/collector and veteran services, while on Thursday it will touch on capital improvements among other topics.
The budget must be adopted by Sept. 5 during a special meeting.
