El Paso County Commissioners approve Hospital District fiscal year 2027 budget, tax rate

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso County Commissioners approved the county Hospital District's 2027 fiscal year budget and tax rate Monday.

"We are proud to have proposed and had approved a $2.1 billion budget and tax rate of $0.236904, which is less compared to the 2026 property tax rate of $0.240892 – a decrease of $0.003988 (2% reduction)," University Medical Center of El Paso said in a news release.

UMC this is the sixth time that the Hospital District proposed and adopted the no-new-revenue tax rate, even as the Hospital District revenues grew by three times since 2017.

Property taxes account for 8% of the district's overall budget and 11% of UMC's budget, UMC said.

The 2020-21 overall property tax rate for the Hospital District was at the highest at $0.267747. Compared to the 2027 tax rate approved Monday, that rate is a 12% reduction over the last six years, UMC said.

UMC said the approved budget reflects recent investments, including new employees and increasing the minimum wage from $15.50 to $16.

"This increase also resulted in pay adjustments for associates in the first five pay grades to maintain appropriate wage differentials. These adjustments do not apply to senior leadership positions," UMC said.