Gonzales County commissioners approve budget, tax rate

The Gonzales County Commissioners Court and County Judge Pat Davis got together for their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, Sept. 9, with one of the main items on the agenda being the 2022-23 budget and tax rate.

The commissioners approved the new tax rate set for $0.3071 per $100 valuation, a decrease from last year’s tax rate of $0.4391.

Earlier in the meeting, the commissioners approved to adopt the 2022-23 budget with a few changes regarding American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The commissioners also approved to ratify the increase in the county’s fiscal year 2023 in revenue from property taxes, which will be more than last year.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Kevin La Fleur said this will raise more total property in taxes for the revenue from last years budget by $8,588, a 4.60 percent increase, and of the total amount, $98,576 is tax revenue to be raised from new properties added to the tax roll this year.

Action items approved in Tuesday’s meeting:

• approved an exception to the Gonzales County Subdivisions rules Precinct 2

• approved an exception to the Gonzales County Subdivision rules Precinct 3

• approved to update the county personal section “policy on holidays.”

• approved to pay out holiday leave balance at the sheriff’s office and jail for all law enforcement personal.

• approved to select TSG engineering for design and completion of a new commission precinct 1 office and maintenance building.

• approved a contract.

• approved to table the disposition of the county attorney's 2013 Chevy Tahoe.

• approved funding for preservation of historical records-district clerk records management fund.

• approved to declare all county employees as essential personal for ARPA purposes.

• approved a road use agreement between Gonzales County and Starling Solar, LLC.

• approved paying sick leave for essential employee emergency sick leave, due to COVID-19, from ARPA fund in the amount of $73,311.45.

• approved to amend Nov. 8, 2022, general notice of election.

• approved sole source justification to purchase a 2017 SAKAI Roller GW750-2 from RDO construction for precincts 1, 2, 3 and 4.