Bexar County Commissioners got their first look at a $2.86 billion budget proposal for the 2022-2023 fiscal year that would keep the tax rate the same, even though single-family home values have risen nearly 28% in the past year, according to the tax assessor-collector.
Tuesday’s proposal would include a 5% pay raise for county elected officials and fund a study to assess and recommend pay increases for county employees. The employee raises would go into effect in January of 2023.
Commissioners are expected to vote on the budget Sept. 13. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
The proposed budget would keep county law enforcement staffing levels the same, a decision that drew complaints from Sheriff Javier Salazar, who said current staffing levels won’t meet the needs of the rapidly growing population.
“Some of the positions that we’ve asked for are in areas where maybe one deputy years ago was sufficient because it was all cow pastures,” Salazar told commissioners. Those pasture are now “rooftops as far as the eye can see,” and it stands to reason you’re going to need more first responders to continue that level of service.”
Amid rising inflation and property values, cities and counties across the state are facing budget surpluses that the state won’t let allow them to keep. Texas law says local governments can increase their revenue by a maximum of 3.5%, excluding taxes from new construction, or risk triggering a vote on the tax rate.
That means local governments have had to figure out ways to reduce their revenue, using limited levers to direct property tax relief to the people they believe need it the most.
Bexar County projects its net taxable base increased roughly 7% between 2021 and 2022, from $192.7 billion to $205.3 billion. New construction accounts for roughly half of the increase.
Commissioners approved a 20% homestead exemption earlier this year that the county estimates is worth an estimated $35.3 million in revenue. It also has a freeze on the amount people 65 and older pay, worth another $171.7 million in revenue.
In comparison, the City of San Antonio plans to institute a smaller homestead exemption this year, while prioritizing a bigger rate decrease that would impact commercial buildings, second homes and rental properties.
“Instead of doing the tax cut, which we thought about doing, we did the homestead exemption … so it helps the homeowner,” Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said Tuesday. A small rate decrease is still possible. The county opens the budget up for public input at its regular 9 a.m. meeting on Sept. 13.
Commissioners voted 4-1 Tuesday to advance a proposal that would keep the tax rate at $.299999 per $100 of valuation. State law would allow the county to go as high as $.358164, while a rate of $.259946 would keep revenue even with the previous year.
“I voted against this tax rate because we’re not lowering it, and I think we should lower it at this point,” said Commissioner Marialyn Barnard (Pct. 3), who cast the lone no vote.
Wolff said the county would be able to cover roughly half of the necessary budget increases with the hefty windfall from property taxes on new construction. It would rely on increased revenue from rising property tax valuations to cover the rest.
The proposed budget will raise roughly $33.6 million more in property taxes than the previous fiscal year’s budget. Of that, about $17.3 million will come from new development.
“We’re all facing issues with respect to inflation, with respect to employee pay, so we’ve had to open up the amount of employee pay,” Wolff said Tuesday of the county’s decision to expand its budget.
“We did keep the [tax] rate right in the middle,” said Wolff. “I think it’s pretty responsible, considering what we’re all facing.”
Law enforcement
Among the most contentious issues in Tuesday’s presentation, Barnard said the sheriff had requested 74 positions that were not mentioned in the staff report, which outlined such personnel requests from other departments. The proposed budget provides for one new support services officer for the sheriff’s office.
Bexar County Manager David Smith said the county’s data indicated additional officers weren’t needed and could actually make response time worse. Though Smith acknowledged the data should be revisited, he suggested Salazar could reassign officers currently working on a special crime unit if more patrol officers are needed.
“I’m not saying the unit’s not needed, but those people are patrolmen,” said Smith. “[The sheriff] could easily put them back on patrol if he so chose.”
Salazar suggested that county staff was hiding behind faulty data to avoid adding more officers.
“I think anybody would be hard pressed to watch the news for any more than two minutes and tell me that we don’t have an organized crime problem in Bexar County,” said Salazar.
“The insinuation that all we need to do is just disband our organized crime group and put it back out on patrol is a bit ludicrous,” he added.
The proposed budget would provide 17 new staff members for the district attorney’s office, including 12 paralegals for intake quality control; two paralegals for family violence; two prosecutors for overnight intake and one administrative assistant for the Family Justice Center.
Hospital district
The Bexar County Hospital District also presented a plan Tuesday to keep its rate the same: $.2762 per $100 of valuation. Doing so would increase revenue by $65 million or roughly 12%. The total property value in the hospital district jumped from $197 billion in 2021 to $222 billion in 2022.
Leaders from University Health said the increased revenue was necessary to keep up with increased salary demands, and to prepare for a projected drop in federal funding.
Elected official pay raises
Commissioners voted in favor of a plan that would allow county elected officials to be eligible for 5% pay increases. Final salary determinations will be approved with the county’s budget on Sept. 13, after officeholders have had a chance to appeal their salaries with a grievance committee.
Data provided by the county shows commissioners currently make different amounts, based on whether they’ve accepted past pay raises. In one case, Barnard was surprised to find her salary, $131,000 per year, was lower than some of her colleagues because of former Precinct 3 Commissioner Trish DeBerry’s decision to decline a raise.
Barnard’s precinct will be represented by either Republican Grant Moody or Democrat Susan Korbel after the November election. County staff said her successor will also come in at the same salary unless the committee that advises on commissioners’ salaries intervenes.
Commissioner Tommy Calvert (Pct. 4), who makes the most money at $141,000 a year, according to county records, accused the county staff of “playing games” with the reporting. He urged the commissioners to approve the measure, adding “it looks worse for you to have, let’s say a 13 or 14 or 15 percent increase” later to catch up with inflation.
Rene Aguilar, an office assistant in the district attorney’s office, attended the meeting to speak against a potential pay increase for commissioners, among other county elected officials.
“It just doesn’t feel right that you all get an auto allowance while [county employees] have to pay an exorbitant amount for parking,” said Aguilar, pointing the commissioners’ $9,000 per year transportation stipend.
This article has been updated to clarify that the county will study offering raises to employees.
