Burnet County in the throes of budget talks

Burnet County officials are crunching the numbers on the upcoming budget to see if they can lower the tax rate and still approve hundreds of thousands of dollars in new expenditures. 

The proposed 2025-26 budget and tax rate for the county were approved Tuesday, Aug. 12, though the numbers are not set in stone. Elected leaders and taxpayers have until an Aug. 26 public hearing on adoption day to weigh in and ask for changes. 

The budget will be further finetuned during a Commissioners Court meeting at 9 a.m. Aug. 19 on the second floor of the Burnet County Courthouse, 220 S. Pierce St. in Burnet. The public hearing, and possible budget adoption, is at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 26 in the same location.

Original proposed budget

(This version of the budget can be viewed at this link.)

A lean version of the budget originally proposed by Burnet County Judge Bryan Wilson was beefed up at Tuesday’s six-hour Commissioners Court meeting, during which department heads argued for new equipment, new personnel, raises, funds for promotions, and more.

Wilson’s proposal aligns with his stance on cutting taxes and reducing spending, something he pitched publicly on Aug. 5.

Drafted before the Tuesday meeting, the judge’s budget does not make any cuts to county departments but does reject nearly all requests for new personnel and reclassifications of positions that would have resulted in salary increases. 

Wilson’s proposed budget is funded by a 0.3323 per $100 valuation property tax rate, which is about 6 percent less than the 2024-25 fiscal year rate of 0.3541 per $100 valuation. 

It would bring in around $40.1 million in revenue for the general fund through taxes and fees. Budgeted expenditures are about $42.2 million. The $2.1 million difference would be covered by the county’s fund balance, which is a pool of unallocated, surplus money kept for unexpected expenses, emergencies, and to help balance the budget if needed.

Wilson developed his version of the budget after weeks of meetings and workshops with elected officials and department heads. As county judge, he is the chief budget officer responsible for creating Burnet County’s budget, which is then adjusted and ultimately voted on by all five members of the Commissioners Court.

“My position is (that) we have (an) opportunity to maintain a smaller county government and lower taxes,” the judge said during Tuesday’s meeting. “If we can’t take this opportunity to lower taxes, then we aren’t doing our jobs.”

Adjusted budget

(This version of the budget can be viewed at this link.)

During Tuesday’s marathon meeting, the whole Commissioners Court deliberated on changes to Wilson’s proposed budget. By the end of the meeting, many requests for equipment, personnel, and promotions that had been denied in Wilson’s budget were ultimately approved by the court. 

The biggest ask approved by unanimous vote of the commissioners and the judge was new personnel for the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office, including four deputies with about $246,000 in combined salaries.

However, the approvals came with a caveat.

“I want to see what (adding the approved items to the budget) does to the tax rate,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery told DailyTrib.com. “It’s my goal to help the judge achieve his goal (of reducing the tax rate) as long as we don’t compromise public safety.”

The budget and tax rate approved by the whole court are different from Wilson’s proposals and will likely change again when the court meets Aug. 19.

The court’s revised version of the proposed budget is funded by a 0.3348 per $100 valuation tax rate, which is slightly higher, a 0.75 percent increase, than Wilson’s 0.3323. It is also well below the 2024-25 rate of 0.3541.

This version of the budget would bring in about $40.4 million, roughly $300,000 more than Wilson’s budget. Expenditures would be $43.5 million, around $1.3 million more than Wilson’s proposed spending. The difference between revenues and expenditures would be made up for with the fund balance, as in Wilson’s proposed budget.

The court made the adjustments after hearing arguments from department heads, including Sheriff Calvin Boyd and Chief Deputy Alan Trevino, who both adamantly defended the Sheriff’s Office’s need for new deputies, other personnel, equipment, and vehicles.

“My number one priority has to be the folks,” Boyd said in court on Tuesday. “Our call times are not where they need to be and our backup times are really bad. Four more deputies would really help us in that frame.”

Boyd was referring to the response times of Burnet County deputies to 911 calls.

Wilson asked what the response times are and if the crime rate has increased at all, but official statistics were not presented or available. Boyd did respond with a rough estimate of 13-15 minutes for the average response time.

Commissioner Dockery stepped in and moved to break the tension between the Sheriff’s Office and the judge.

“Plug (the funds for the deputies into the budget) and run the numbers, and let’s see if we can still get the taxpayers a (tax) rate cut,” he said. “That would be fantastic.”

The court unanimously approved Dockery’s motion.

TO GET INVOLVED

Keep up with Burnet County Commissioners Court meetings, budgets, and agendas on the county’s agenda center webpage. Meetings, including the one on Tuesday, can be viewed on the county’s YouTube page.

Residents wanting to get involved can attend meetings and offer public comment or contact the members of the Commissioners Court directly with comments, concerns, and questions at:

Burnet County Judge Bryan Wilson

bwilson@burnetcountytexas.org; 512-756-5400

Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Luther Jr.

jluther@burnetcountytexas.org; 512-715-4112     

Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle

dbeierle@burnetcountytexas.org; 512-715-2611

Precinct 3 Commissioner Chad Collier

ccollier@burnetcountytexas.org; 830-265-0483

Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery

jdockery@burnetcountytexas.org; 512-715-2911

dakota@thepicayune.com