El Paso County Commissioners adopt proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027
UPDATE (9:30 p.m.): The El Paso County Commissioner's Court voted 5-0 to adopt the budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027.
The County adopted the No-New-Revenue tax rate, a move Precinct 2 Commissioner David Stout said required difficult financial decisions in the previous budget year.
Commissioner David Stout said the county was only able to reach the lower rate because commissioners made difficult choices last year, including a minimal tax-rate increase.
“I have seen in the past people push hard to add items to the budget,” Stout said. “They celebrate when they are included. They take credit for delivering them and then walk away when the bill comes due.”
Stout said the county's decision last year helped make the current tax rate possible.
“We were only able to go down to the no-new-revenue rate this year because of the difficult decision some of us took last year to increase the tax rate minimally,” he said.
Under the new rate, homeowners whose property values have remained unchanged would pay about $17 less per year, according to the budget presentation.
The 2026 tax rate was at $0.451133, while the tax rate for Fiscal Year 2027 is $0.4477.
According to the county's taxpayer impact statement, the median homeowner could see their annual property tax bill increase by nearly $70, despite the lower tax rate.
Public safety was another major focus of the budget discussion. It makes up the biggest portion of the budget at $171.8 million, or 36%.
More than $6 million was added to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office budget. The increase comes as the Sheriff's Office faces a deficit of more than $4 million this year.
Overtime expenses are a significant part of that shortfall.
During the budget discussion, commissioners questioned why overtime costs have increased so substantially this year.
The Sheriff's Office said staffing shortages are one factor.
Deputy Gailey told commissioners that a number of employees have left the department for other employment opportunities, increasing the need to bring in additional personnel.
“We have seen a number of people leave the department for other opportunities or employment,” Gailey said. “So that's impacting the requirement we're having to bring in.”
Commissioners said they will ask Sheriff Ugarte to attend their next meeting in person to provide a more detailed explanation of the Sheriff's Office's overtime costs.
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) – In Monday's El Paso County Commissioners Court meeting, commissioners will vote whether to approve a budget amendment to the county's 2025-2026 operating budget.
The amendment is to use funds from the Sheriff's Office general fund in the amount of $47,975 to cover the costs of replacement doors and substation restroom cabinets.
The funds will also cover the cost of an elevator contract. The budgetary amendment won't impact El Paso County's overall budget of $681,614,389.50, according to the agenda.
County commissioners will also decide whether to approve and adopt the proposed El Paso County budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027, beginning Oct. 1.
