This page contains budget analysis and the audio recordings of the Commissioners Court discussions related to the 2027 budget year.
In today’s 45-minute meeting, the court chooses a employee health benefits option. In short, the deductibles for both plans will now be $2,500, the employee’s share of the cost will increase a little and the county will realize about $200,000 in savings. In other news, a local disaster was declared over “illegal immigration, human trafficking and drug smuggling” (related to Texas’ Operation Lone Star initiative and grant funding) and the elections administrator gave us a summary of new election laws and how they will affect our elections. See my full report and hear it all right here.
The Court discussed the county employee benefits package renewal for another 83 minutes today and are homing in on their preferred adjustments for the new enrollment period. In short, the Court plans to shift some of the cost burden to employees and change the balance of benefits between the existing HRA and PPO plans. The final decision will be made at the regular meeting on 6/26. In my nearly four years of covering the Court, I don’t recall witnessing a more thorough discussion and I commend the Court for their efforts to reduce costs while maintaining an excellent package of benefits for county employees.
At 2 hours and 14 minutes, this meeting is one of the longest of the current administration. Rarely are items discussed as long as the TAC employee benefits package renewal was discussed. With an above average loss ratio of 149% and renewal premium increase of 9.7%, the county is looking for ways to save money by adjusting the employee health benefits plan design. A special meeting has been called for Monday the 16th at 10 am to continue the discussion. In other news, retiring 30+ year EMS employee Patty Nelson was recognized for her outstanding service, Fayette Savings Bank presented new interest rates for the next two years and budget amendments were presented apparently indicating a substantial $2.5 million surplus for the 2024 budget year.
It was a very nice and productive meeting today, beginning with public comments on Juneteenth and the windmill farm. Subdivision regulation via enforcement gets a boost today, there is a lengthy EMS report covering billing issues and scholarships, and the Muldoon Park and the airport construction project and were discussed. The main event, however, was the discussion on employee benefits, the budget and payroll. Don’t miss the last few minutes.
Today in Commissioners Court, Emancipation Day was declared, and the employee insurance renewal was discussed. The new subdivision ordinance received its first test since adoption and survived. We hear reports from the Grant Specialist and EMC, the EMS director, Chief Deputy Noviski and the Court approved a new part time animal control officer. The most interesting thing, however, were the budget amendments. Precinct 2 Commissioner Sternadel asked for a half a million dollar budget amendment to build a bridge which will vastly diminish Precinct 2’s reserve funds. No word on why it was not approved in last year’s budget or why it can’t wait until next year when it can be budgeted and collected from taxpayers.
Today’s meeting was another one with great participation. There were a number of topics with heavy discussion but the most interesting was the application requesting a 100% tax abatement for a giant battery project and the pending changes to the subdivision regulations. While the proposed increase in subdivision platting will help ensure compliance with minimum standards, setting the minimum lot width so high at 170 feet will adversely affect real estate development by making it more difficult to develop affordable, minimum-sized lots. Regulations become onerous and over burdensome particularly when they go beyond the minimum requirement to protect public health and welfare and try creating Utopia.
What a great meeting! With 27 items on the agenda, I expected a longer one, but we ended at an hour and 37 minutes. There was a lot of great discussion today on several items. The EMS and Grant reports were both informative and the recycling center was a hot topic today. They even recognized that there are too many strings attached to some grants, rejecting one, and that relying on money from the State for our budget could be dangerous. Employee benefits were discussed again, and the budget work shop was very informative as well. Don’t miss it!
Commissioners Court was brief again today and the hot topic was certainly the TAC presentation of the 2024 employee benefits renewal plans and rates. With 73 minutes and 21 agenda items, the routine was interrupted with minimal discussion related to subdivisions, the hazard mitigation grant and a survey of donated real estate. Did you know the County carries an insurance policy for employee theft? The budget calendar was also discussed, and I asked when the public would begin seeing department budget requests. Don’t miss the budget and TAC discussions.