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[00:00:01]

GO AHEAD AND START OUR BUDGET WORKSHOP AT 10:48, THE NINTH DAY OF AUGUST 2022.

COULD I GET A MOTION TO SKIP THE INVOCATION OF THE PLEDGE, PLEASE? SO MOVE. WE HAVE A MOTION.

DO WE HAVE A SECOND? MOTION AND A SECOND ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE. OPPOSED HEARING NONE, MOTION CARRIES.

ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? ANY CITIZEN COMMENTS.

ALL RIGHT. WE'LL GO TO THE ITEM ONE DISCUSSION.

[1. WORKSHOP: To Discuss all departmental request budget for FY 2023]

ANYTHING YOU GUYS WANT TO TALK ABOUT REGARDING THE BUDGET? I WANTED TO GO. LET'S JUST TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH REVENUES IN THE PAST.

THE MOST OUR RATES EVER DROP WAS ABOUT SIX PENNIES AND SO BUDGETED ACCORDINGLY.

BUT BECAUSE OF THE EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF APPRAISED VALUES THAT WERE PLACED ON THE PROPERTY FROM LAST YEAR, OUR TAX RATE DROPPED ABOUT ALMOST 14 PENNIES, WHICH EQUATED TO FOUR AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS THAT WE HAD TO GO THROUGH AND REMOVE FROM THE BUDGET TO GET IT BALANCED.

AND SO I'VE GOT A LIST HERE.

I THINK THAT YOU GUYS HAVE RECEIVED IT, BUT I'LL JUST READ IT.

ANY AND ALL NEW POSITIONS THAT WERE REQUESTED HAVE BEEN DENIED.

THAT WAS IN [INAUDIBLE] DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE BUILDING MAINTENANCE TAX OFFICE, CODE ENFORCEMENT ENGINEER, PRECINCT FOUR, CONSTABLE COUNTY COURT AT LAW ELECTIONS AND PRECINCT ONE.

WE'RE, LET'S SEE, UNIT ROAD MACHINERY EQUIPMENT.

WE HAD TO TAKE THAT 750 THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THOUSAND OUT SHERIFF'S OFFICE WE LOWERED THEIR MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT FROM 150000 TO 50000.

GENERAL MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT WAS AT 90,000.

WE LOWERED IT 12,000.

AND WE SAT DOWN WITH THESE DEPARTMENTS AND WENT THROUGH WITH THEM.

SO THEY'RE AWARE.

WE WERE ABLE TO INCREASE SOME OF THE SALES TAX.

WE WENT BACK THROUGH AND LOOKED AT WHERE WE ARE AND WE INCREASED.

WE'RE ABLE TO INCREASE SALES TAX P&I AND DELINQUENT AD VALOREM TAX.

WE REEVALUATED THE FUEL EXPENSES BASED ON WHERE WE'RE AT CURRENTLY AND HOPEFULLY THEY'LL CONTINUE TO AT LEAST STAY THE SAME OR GO DOWN, BUT TOOK OUT EXPENSES FOR COURTHOUSE REPAIR AND REMODEL.

WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO DEPEND ON FINDING A GRANT FOR THAT.

WE WENT BACK AND ANALYZED THE UTILITIES THANKS TO [INAUDIBLE] CONTROL AND WE WERE ABLE TO GO UP HERE AND DECREASE THOSE.

WE TOOK OUT EXPENSES FOR JP 1 OUTSIDE REMODEL.

WE DECREASED MEDICAL CONTINGENCY, WHICH IS THE NUMBER WE KEEP IN THERE IN CASE EVERYBODY THAT'S NOT TAKING THE INSURANCE SUDDENLY QUIT TOMORROW.

AND EVERYBODY THAT WE HIRED TOOK THE INSURANCE.

WE DECREASED THAT FROM 200000 TO 100000.

AND THEN WE WENT THROUGH THE BUDGET LINE BY LINE AND EVALUATED EVERY SINGLE EXPENSE ITEM AND ADJUSTED IF WE WERE ABLE TO.

AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT.

SO AND WE GOT IT BACK TO BALANCE.

WE HAD ABOUT A $2 MILLION INCREASE RATHER THAN A $6 MILLION INCREASE.

SO WE WILL HAVE TO FILE AN AMENDED PRELIMINARY BUDGET BASED ON THAT.

AND WE DIDN'T WE DIDN'T GET THE CERTIFIED ROLLS UNTIL AFTER OUR WORKSHOP.

SO THAT'S WE HAD TO GO THROUGH AND MAKE ALL THESE ADJUSTMENTS.

AND SO WITH THAT, COMMISSIONERS, I'LL THROW IT OPEN AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BUDGET THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.

WANTED TO ALSO PUT OUT THERE JUDGE THE SUBDIVISION FEES INCREASED THE REVENUE INCREASE DRAMATICALLY.

SO THAT HELPED OUT QUITE A BIT.

YEAH. THANKS, CASEY.

YEAH, WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT ON HERE.

THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS? YOU KNOW, THIS IS WE WERE DISCUSSING THIS EARLIER.

THIS IS A PRODUCT OF SENATE BILL TWO.

AND THIS IS WHY COUNTIES FOUGHT IT SO HARD.

IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH THE CONTROLLER FORCES THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT TO RAISE VALUATIONS, THE THE RATE GOING DOWN WILL ALWAYS JUST ABOUT ENSURE THAT YEAR OVER YEAR THE COUNTIES WILL ONLY HAVE A SMALL INCREASE IN REVENUE TO WORK WITH.

IF YOU LISTEN TO THE COMPTROLLER, THEY'LL SAY IT'S COUNTIES FAULT.

THE COMPTROLLER IS THE ONE DRIVING THE PROPERTY VALUES.

THEY ARE GOING INTO THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS AND FORCING THEM TO RAISE VALUATIONS.

THIS YEAR THEY WENT UP 51%.

LAST YEAR THEY WENT UP 30%.

YEAR BEFORE THEY WENT UP 20%.

20% WASN'T ENOUGH.

[00:05:01]

30% WASN'T ENOUGH.

AND IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IF THEY'RE GOING TO BE SATISFIED WITH 51%.

BUT THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE COMING IN AND FORCING THE YOUR APPRAISAL DISTRICTS TO RAISE YOUR RATES.

AND THAT IS JUST A FACT.

AND I WILL PREACH IT LONG AND LOUD AS LONG AS I'M COUNTY JUDGE.

AND WHAT THAT RESULTS IN IS YOUR TAX RATE DROPS 10%, BUT YOUR PROPERTY VALUE WENT UP 51%.

SO THE PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTY ARE STILL PAYING A HECK OF A LOT MORE OF THEIR MONEY FOR TAXES.

AND IT'S IN THE COUNTIES GET STILL, GET 16 PENNIES OF EVERY DOLLAR.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL FOR LOWERING YOUR RATE, BUT NOT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR PROPERTY VALUES GOING THROUGH THE ROOF SO THAT YOU'RE PAYING A LOT MORE TAXES.

AND THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY TO GET TO IT.

AND THERE'S NO FLOOR TO THIS.

SO THEORETICALLY, IT COULD GO UP LIKE THIS EVERY YEAR UNTIL WE'RE AT ZERO.

SO HOPEFULLY THE LEGISLATURE WILL, IN THE NEXT SESSION, WILL ADDRESS THIS A LITTLE BIT AND ADJUST SB 2 TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE SANE.

BUT IN THE MEANTIME, THIS IS WHAT WE DEAL WITH.

SO WE HAVE TO MAKE OUR BUDGET WORK WITH WHAT WE GET.

AND THE $2 MILLION EXTRA THAT WE DID GET, I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT, WAS CONSUMED WITH A 5% RAISE FUEL PRICES AND AN INCREASE IN OUR INSURANCE RATE. SO WE WILL BE LOOKING AT INSURANCE OTHER THAN TACK NEXT THIS NEXT GO AROUND.

THE LAST TIME WE DID THAT, WE SUDDENLY ONLY GOT A 1% RATE INCREASE.

SO I THINK IT'S TIME TO TAKE A HARD LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE SPENDING ON INSURANCE AND WHAT WE'RE GETTING WHILE WE HAVE INSURANCE.

BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD WITH OUR PLAN WILL TELL YOU YOU HAVE 3000 OUT OF POCKET EXPENSE RIGHT UP FRONT.

THEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE FACING IF YOU HAVE A MAJOR SURGERY, YOU'LL BE FACING ANOTHER 4 TO $5000 IN CO-PAYS, WHICH FOR SOME REASON THEY THINK THAT THAT IS NOT OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSE.

I DON'T KNOW WHOSE POCKET THEY THINK IT COMES OUT OF, BUT OUT OF OUT OF OUR EMPLOYEES POCKETS.

SO BEFORE YOU GET TO WHERE INSURANCE FULLY COVERING YOU, YOU'VE SPENT SEVEN OR 8000 BUCKS.

SO I THINK IT'S TIME TO HAVE A PRETTY LONG, HARD LOOK AT OUR INSURANCE AND SEEK OUT OTHER PROVIDERS AND SEE IF WE CAN'T GET A BETTER DEAL FOR OUR FOLKS.

BUT THAT WON'T BE THIS BUDGET CYCLE.

THAT WILL BE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE.

OKAY. I'M DONE.

I'M OFF MY SOAPBOX FOR THE MOMENT.

I'LL JUST SAY I APPRECIATE ALL EVERYBODY'S HARD WORK ON IT TO TO GET DEALT THAT KIND OF AT THE 11TH HOUR AND HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT IS PUTS A LOT OF PUTS A LOT OF STRAIN ON OUR STAFF. AND THEY THEY CAME THROUGH ONCE AGAIN IN DEALING WITH A RATHER DIFFICULT SITUATION HERE.

SO YEAH.

AND I ESPECIALLY LIKE DANNY AND EZZY, THEY, THEY DID MOST OF THE HEAVY LIFTING KIND OF GETTING THROUGH THAT AND IDENTIFYING AREAS WHERE WE COULD GET THINGS BALANCED.

SOME OF THEM WERE OBVIOUS AND EASY, AND SOME OF THEM WEREN'T NEARLY AS OBVIOUS AND NEARLY AS EASY.

BUT WE GOT THERE THANKS TO THEIR HARD WORK.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE. WHAT WHAT DID WE END UP IN CONTINGENCY FOR? PROPOSED. STAYED THE SAME.

YEAH, IT STAYED AT 400,000.

AND JUST TO MAKE A NOTE TO THAT, JUDGE WAS VERY ADAMANT ABOUT NOT TAKING THAT 5% AWAY FROM THE EMPLOYEES AND WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT.

SO I KNOW WE RAN KIND OF LEAN AND CONTINGENCY THIS YEAR AND YEAH, WE, I WAS JUST CURIOUS.

WE, WE HAD SO WE INCREASED IT 100,000 JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT BECAUSE WE'RE WE ARE SUPER LEAN RIGHT NOW I JUST EVERY EVERY DAY THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO GET IN IT IS A WIN.

SO HOPEFULLY WE WON'T HAVE THAT ISSUE NEXT NEXT GO AROUND.

WE HAD SOME KIND OF STRANGE THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR TOO.

SO ANYWAY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? I F NOT. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND.

JUDGE. I JUST WANT TO REMIND THE COURT THAT FOR THE NEXT COMMISSIONERS COURT, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE PUBLIC HEARING.

WE WILL BE DISCUSSING THE SALARIES, THE TAX RATE, ETC..

SO IN THAT COMMISSIONERS COURT, WE CAN ADOPT THE TAX RATE, WE CAN ADOPT THE BUDGET IF NEEDED.

IF NOT, WE HAVE UP UNTIL SEPTEMBER THE 30TH TO ADOPT THE BUDGET.

RIGHT. THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS.

I'LL LOOK FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURN.

I'LL MAKE A MOTION WE ADJOURN.

WE HAVE A MOTION. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE. OPPOSED, HEARING NONE, THAT MOTION CARRIES.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.