Indigent care forces Burnet County to face funding challenges, Klaeger says
BURNET — Mandates by the Legislature to fund health care for indigents could eventually force Burnet County to put a tax hike before voters, officials said during a recent workshop.
County Judge Donna Klaeger said such approval is unlikely given current economic woes.
“I doubt if people would vote to raise their taxes, and I don’t know that I would, either,” she said.
IN PHOTO: Burnet County Judge Donna Klaeger enjoys a light moment during a workshop for county department heads Friday. Staff photo by Raymond V. Whelan
Kleager added that costs to pay the tab for those who can’t afford legal representation are also rising.
The issue of funding indigent care remains troubling, she indicated.
The county’s share of the cost for indigent health care may increase by $500,000 during FY 2010-2011, the judge added.
The increase could raise by 8 percent the portion of the county’s gross receipts for indigent health care, Klaeger said.
“Currently, it is 4 percent,” she added.
Unless more revenue goes into county coffers, the increase could force the County Commissioners to raise the tax rate by 5 percent, Klaeger said.
Voters would have to approve an increase of 8 percent or more for the county tax rate, Klaeger added.
For instance, the county may have to increase the size of its budget for indigent defense by 67 percent or from about $600,000 to $1 million during FY 2010-2011, set to begin Oct. 1, the judge added.
“We are paying an incredible amount for indigent defense, and we are mandated (by the Legislature) to do it,” Klaeger said.
The commissioners plan to adopt the same county tax rate of 36.37 cents per $100 of property valuation for the next fiscal year, Klaeger said.
Meanwhile, despite some guarded forecasts the recession is getting better at the national level, new construction is down and unemployment is up in Burnet County.
Nevertheless, Klaeger and other officials sounded a note of optimism during the workshop Friday for county department heads at the Herman Brown Free Library.
"We are going to get through this together," Klaeger told more than 40 attendees. "We are going to be fine."
Meanwhile, recent figures from the Burnet Central Appraisal District show new construction in the county is down about 43 percent, Klaeger said Friday.
“It has slowed, but it has not stopped,” County Environmental Services Director Herb Darling added.
In addition, recent U.S. Department of Labor statistics show the county has an unemployment rate of 6 percent, Klaeger said.
“Normally, it is 3 percent,” she added.
That figure is still below the 8.2 percent reported at the state level and a national rate of 9.7 percent.
However, new jobs at the nearly 1-year-old Burnet County Jail have helped lower the rate of unemployment. Almost 100 percent of more than 100 employees at the jail live in the county, Klaeger said.
“We are very happy about that, but there are still a lot of people without jobs,” she added.
If all goes well, the county will not eliminate any positions during fiscal year 2010-2011, set to begin Oct. 1, Klaeger said.
Additional revenue from the jail (where the Texas Department of Criminal Justice pays the county to house more than 400 inmates) may help maintain the rate, she added.
Even with the recent county budget totaling more than $20 million, the county tax rate still ranks among the lowest 17 percent of all Texas counties, Klaeger said.
“That is why we keep growing, and why people want to live here,” she added. “We have a really good financial status, and we intend to keep it that way.”
The county recently refinanced its outstanding debt at a savings of about $260,000, said Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery.
The county is on track to be free of debt by 2016, Dockery added.
Furthermore, the county bond rating recently jumped to a Double A minus rating, Precinct 1 Commissioner Bill Neve said.
“That is very good news,” he added.
The higher rating means the county does need to submit payments for bond insurance, Neve said.
“That helps a lot,” the commissioner added.
With an eye toward long-term savings, the commissioners hope to purchase permanent digs for the Precinct 1 and 3 justices of the peace during the upcoming fiscal year, Klaeger said.
Both justices are currently occupying rented office spaces, she added.
“That is just throwing money away, as far as I am concerned,” Klaeger said. “We take our budget very, very seriously, and the public watches where we spend the money.”