Editor: Shannon Cottongame
August 24, 2023
The Hill County Commissioners Court proposed a tax rate during a special meeting held Tuesday, August 15, as work continues to fine-tune the budget for the fiscal year that begins October 1.
The total county tax rate is comprised of two rates: the general fund rate, which is used for general operating expenses, and the FM lateral rate, which can only be used to purchase road and bridge materials.
The court proposed a general fund tax rate of $0.371881 per $100 valuation and an FM lateral rate of $0.063753 per $100 valuation for a total combined tax rate of $0.435634.
The overall proposed rate is down more than two cents from last year’s adopted rate of $0.459179.
The proposed tax rate is higher than the no-new-revenue rate, which would raise the same amount of revenue as last year, and just under the voter-approval rate, which would trigger an election if exceeded.
Due to increased property values in the county, the reduced rate will still bring in more revenue than past years while suppressing the tax rate as required by recent state laws intended to slow property tax growth.
The total tax levy on all properties in the county is projected at $15,537,399 for 2023, compared to $14,289,281 in 2022. The average taxable value of a homestead increased over 12% from 2022 to 2023.
Tax calculation documents show that the county saw about $306 million in new construction on the appraisal rolls for the general fund this year and over $563 million in new construction on the FM lateral side. Most of that increase was attributed to solar and wind farms in the county.
A public hearing will be held at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 5, to give taxpayers an opportunity to comment on the proposal prior to the rate’s adoption.
The proposed annual budget was prepared by County Judge Justin Lewis with assistance from County Auditor Sahib Rao and Hill County Treasurer Rachel Parker. As required, it was filed with Hill County Clerk Nicole Tanner August 15.
The first draft of the budget includes estimated revenues of $28,818,938 and expenditures of $28,809,624.
Lewis is proposing designating approximately $2 million of the county’s unbudgeted reserves to begin working on construction projects like adding office space to the sheriff’s office and creating precinct annexes.
The county is required to keep an amount equal to 25% of general fund expenditures in reserves, but it currently has about 49% in reserves. “That’s why we have our unbudgeted revenue so high,” Lewis said. “Over the years we’ve saved, and it’s time for action now.”
The judge pointed out that he only proposes using reserves for one-time expenses and not recurring expenses.
But recurring expenses will be another issue that will have to be addressed as commissioners continue working through the budget prior to its adoption. Evergreen Solutions, which the county recently hired to perform a payroll study, gave a presentation during Tuesday’s meeting and said on average, the county needs about a 16% adjustment in its payroll to be competitive in the marketplace. The effort to shore up payroll alone would cost the county about $1.3 million.
Evergreen Project Manager Mark Holcombe told commissioners that almost 70% of the county’s employees took part in its effort to collect job surveys. The company analyzed both internal data from the county and information about competitors in the market.
While the county’s pay is not competitive, Holcombe said that pay for some positions in the county is closer to the competition than others.
The court is expected to take action on the recommendation after figuring out how the numbers fit into the budget.
“It’s a large number,” Lewis said. “I’m not telling you it’s not doable, but it’s going to be a chore. I think we can swing this if we’re smart about it, but that means there’s going to be some things people asked for that aren’t in this budget.”
The judge once again emphasized the importance of recruiting and retaining employees, which has been difficult for the county at its current pay scale.
Evergreen also recommended that the county create a more structured pay scale that allows employees to see where they are on the scale based on their duties and how they can move up in the county.
Elected officials and department heads visited with commissioners throughout budget hearings held the week before the proposed budget was filed to present requests, most of which involved only minor adjustments to their individual budgets this year or requests to increase pay for their staff.
Notable discussions included a request from District Attorney Mark Pratt to add another assistant district attorney to his office due to the number of cases his office works. Lewis said that he believes the request is justifiable based on the office’s caseload, which is as high as nearby counties that operate with a much larger staff.
There was also discussion about Senate Bill 22, which Governor Greg Abbott signed off on in June. It established grant programs to provide financial assistance to qualified sheriff’s offices, constable’s offices and prosecutor’s offices in rural counties. If received, the funding could pay for Pratt’s new assistant district attorney.
The county is expected to receive $300,000 under SB 22, but it must meet certain requirements. Hill County’s constables won’t qualify for the funding, because only constables whose duties mostly consist of conducting traffic stops are eligible.
The sheriff’s office will qualify with a slight salary adjustment. Jailers are required to make over $40,000 per year to pull down the additional funding, and the county sheriff must make at least $75,000 per year. While the county’s jailer pay already meets the requirement, the sheriff’s pay will have to be adjusted up slightly to allow the county to qualify for the $300,000 in grant funds.
Hill County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Scott Robinson presented his department’s budget requests. Prior to the presentation by the sheriff’s office, Lewis told the court that the department had significant requests.
“If I’ve got to fight for the taxpayer, I’ll fight for the taxpayer all day long,” Lewis told commissioners. “I’ve been looking at this problem for a long time now. If they can’t show fiscal responsibility with the taxpayer dollars they’ve been given, how can we be expected to give them more?”
In his presentation to commissioners, Robinson said that he knew the county was awaiting the presentation from Evergreen, but he suggested that all county employees get a $9,000 pay increase, which would bring jailers and dispatchers up to $50,000 a year and be competitive in the marketplace.
He said that the department would then use SB 22 funding to add an additional $7,300 to every sworn deputy’s pay, which would take them from $44,859 starting out to $61,159.
Robinson pointed out that officers in Whitney and Hillsboro start out at higher pay rates than sheriff’s deputies. Lewis said that this is being considered, but he added that other agencies also don’t offer the level of benefits that the county does.
Robinson also said that because these nearby departments are utilizing the same computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, the deputies are becoming “plug and play” and can quickly be hired to begin working at other departments.
The chief deputy said that the department is currently down six patrol deputies, and five had resigned to take higher paying jobs in the last five weeks. Lewis interjected and said that he heard something different when he talk to the employees.
Robinson reiterated the department’s difficulty in recruiting and retaining employees at the current pay rates and asked the court to consider the proposed increases. Lewis said that it was going to be considered but commissioners would be waiting until the results of the Evergreen study that was to be presented the next Tuesday.
Lewis also asked the department to provide information about the average cost per day to feed an inmate. The judge said that the department busted its food budget, which had been a historically high number, and said that the court needs to know if that is going to be a trend for budgetary purposes.
The sheriff’s office also requested to add dual-certification pay to its budget as the department remains short-staffed and some deputies are also serving in other areas, such as dispatch and the jail.
In other discussions during budget hearings, Lewis asked Community Supervision and Corrections Department Director Greg Mason if it would be helpful to consider moving the department out of the Covington Street annex and into the sheriff’s office as new office space is constructed. Mason said that he believed it would be helpful, and future discussions are expected as the county continues to assess its needs to accommodate growth.
In other agenda items covered at Tuesday’s special meeting, the court voted to modify the county’s paid time off policy to be available for use after the first paycheck after employment. Employees who terminate their employment with the county before their three-year anniversary will forfeit all unused accrued paid time off.
Commissioners also approved a final plat for the Irish Hill Addition off of Farm Road 934 and a preliminary plat for Aquilla Meadows Estates, a subdivision off of HCR 1414.
The court delayed action on proposing elected officials’ salaries until the next meeting to allow more time to review the information from Evergreen.
Commissioners convened in closed session and later voted in open session to allow the county attorney to accept notice and defend a suit described as Olson v. Hill County.
Lewis said that the matter involves a lawsuit over a county road and a longstanding feud between two neighbors. He added that the county has nothing at stake in the matter.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Scotty Hawkins abstained from the vote due to the parties involved being in his precinct.
Commissioners will be meeting weekly in August as budget work continues. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 22, at 8:30 a.m. in the Hill County Courthouse.
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