Brazos County Commissioners set to begin FY23-24 budget and tax rate discussions

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) -Budget and tax rate talks are currently ongoing in Brazos County, and with inflation on the rise, residents are hoping for some relief.

A workshop is planned for Thursday, where Brazos County leaders will meet to discuss the budget and tax rate for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Ahead of the upcoming workshop, Brazos County Commissioner Steve Aldrich expressed his desire for smoother budget negotiations this year, as compared to the previous year.

“The financial outlook for Brazos County is very good,” said Aldrich. “We did not increase taxes last year and the projection is that we will finish this year with a $21 million surplus.”

Last October, the Brazos County Commissioners were unable to establish a new tax rate before the deadline, resulting in the adoption of a “no new revenue” rate of $0.42.

Initially, a proposition to increase the rate to $0.48 was put forth. However, Commissioner Russ Ford and Commissioner Steve Aldrich, at that time, avoided attending meetings starting in early September to prevent its passage. The County made efforts to negotiate by lowering the proposed rate to $0.46, but this concession failed to bring the two commissioners to the negotiating table. State law mandates the participation of at least four out of five commissioners in meetings aimed at determining the tax rate.

Both Commissioners argued that it would impose a greater financial burden on taxpayers due to rising property appraisal values, and instead, advocated for a neutral tax rate of $0.44.

“If you do the no new revenue rate, don’t increase taxes, and you generate a surplus of $21 million that kind of I mean, that says to me, we need to orient things towards the no new revenue rate again, and not increase taxes unless we have reasons that we need to,” said Aldrich.

Despite a proposal for a four percent cost of living adjustment for all county employees, and factoring in vacant job positions that have been filled and need to be filled, Aldrich believes that the county remains in a strong position to avoid raising the tax rate.

“I think the important thing is, as a result of not raising taxes last year, Brazos County is in good fiscal condition with a surplus and is in a good position long-term for what needs to be done in the future as well,” said Aldrich.

The scheduled workshop is slated for 2:00 PM at the Brazos County Administration Building in Bryan.