Llano County to raise tax rate, budget $1M for hospital
Llano County adopted its budget and tax rate for 2025-26, raising the tax rate for the first time since 2019 and setting aside $1 million to support the Llano Regional Hospital, if needed.
The Commissioners Court unanimously approved the budget and new tax rate during its regular meeting Monday, Aug. 25, locking in spending and revenues for the start of the fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
BUDGET
The 2025-26 budget raises about $1.48 million more for the general fund than the 2024-25 budget, a roughly 7.8 percent increase, bringing it from last year’s $19.03 million to the coming year’s $20.52 million.
While the budget includes some general increases, like salary raises for elected officials and employees, the lion’s share is $1 million put into the unallocated funds to support the Llano Regional Hospital. Last year’s budget did not include the hospital funding.
“With this (budget) increase, there is a slight increase to what it has to be, but I want everybody to know, and I really appreciate the Commissioners Court support, but, I mean, we added $1 million in our budget for the Llano Hospital,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Don Moss said during Monday’s meeting.
The Llano Regional Hospital is in its first year of county operations following the exit of Mid Coast Health System. Llano County has been supporting and shepherding the transition since November 2024 and has already allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep the hospital running.
The $1 million won’t be automatically handed over to the hospital. It will remain in reserve unless it is needed.
“Hopefully, they don’t need it, but we need a hospital in the city of Llano,” Moss said.
TAX RATE
Llano County adopted a tax rate increase for the first time since the 2019-20 fiscal year.
The newly approved rate for 2025-26 is $0.25953 per $100 property valuation, which is about 3.76 percent higher than last fiscal year’s rate of $0.25012.
A no-new-revenue rate would have needed to be $0.24367 per $100 property valuation.
The tax rate increase puts the county at its voter approval rate, or “VAR,” for the year, which is the highest it can be raised by law at one time without it being put to a vote by Llano County residents.
In recent years, the county has been conservative with its tax rate, steadily approving lower rates or holding the same rate year to year since FY 2020-21.
- 2018-19—$0.28650
- 2019-20—$0.3141
- 2020-21—$0.29574
- 2021-22—$0.29574
- 2022-23—$0.26621
- 2023-24—$0.26621
- 2024-25—$0.25012
- 2025-26—$0.25953