Ellis County judge issues statement about fiscal year 2027 budgeting process

Ellis County Judge John Wray issued the following statement on Sunday, Aug. 16:

"Last week, Ellis County published a proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2027. The important thing to keep in mind is that the proposed budget is just that, a proposal. The proposal will go through a process of feedback from your County Commissioners, other elected officials, department heads within county government, and most importantly, the citizens of Ellis County.

“The proposed budget anticipates Ellis County will hold its tax rate steady relative to the prior year, at 27.3992 cents for $100 of valuation. If the rate stays at this level, Ellis County will generate just under $113 million of tax revenue in the coming year, which is approximately $6.5 million to $7 million more than last year. Approximately 86.6 percent of this new revenue is derived from new property added to the tax roll in 2026. Generally speaking, new property is added to the tax roll as a result of population growth.

“It is well known that Ellis County is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, and it is reasonable to expect the budget to grow as a result of population growth and inflation. In fact, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which is the lead conservative think-tank in Texas, says growth in government revenue and spending should be limited to population growth plus inflation. The proposed tax rate and budget fall well within this respected conservative guideline.

“The majority of your money that goes to Ellis County government is spent on law enforcement and criminal justice. The proposed budget anticipates adding detention officers for the county jail, new deputies and other employees for the Sheriff’s Office, new prosecutors and other employees for the District Attorney’s Office, and new employees for juvenile justice programs. All of these additions are driven by the increasing demand on our criminal justice system due to a rapidly growing population.

“Ellis County’s tax rate was 41.3599 cents per $100 of valuation in 2016, and the Commissioners Court has worked hard to control spending, reduce waste, and conservatively budget your tax dollars over the past 10 years in order to reduce the tax rate to its current level of 27.3992 cents. There is more work to be done. All members of the Commissioners Court, including me, understand the complexity, confusion, and unfairness of the property tax system, and we understand your frustration. Until legislation is passed allowing counties to fund jails, law enforcement, courts, prosecutors, and other critical government services via a different revenue source, your Commissioners Court will have to use a responsible approach to budgeting and setting the tax rate, which balances conservatism, growth, and critical county services.

“The proposed budget and proposed tax rate are works in progress. The Commissioners Court will continue to solicit feedback with an eye toward adopting a tax rate and budget at one of the Court’s meetings in September. The published numbers and figures in the budget will certainly change as the Commissioners Court and staff continue to refine the source information based on feedback from the public and other elected officials. This is a normal part of the process.

“I welcome public feedback and appreciate the comments I received during the special meeting of the Ellis County GOP on August 15. On August 18, the Commissioners Court will vote to propose a tax rate, and my recommendation is the proposed tax rate be no higher than the current rate of 27.3992 cents per $100 of valuation. The adopted tax rate, which will be considered in September after public feedback, may be lower than the foregoing amount. Public notices of these meetings will be posted on the County’s website, and the public is encouraged to attend.”