County budget: No walk out expected this year, but keeping low tax rate may put some needs on wait list

Last year, two Lubbock County Commissioners walked out of meetings for weeks – keeping their colleagues from raising the tax rate.

A year later, those commissioners feel like they have the votes to sustain the no-new revenue tax rate without having the walk out.

Over the next few months, the commissioners will try to figure out how to pay for millions of dollars of what they agree are needed projects without higher taxes or putting a bond in front of voters. Increased revenue from growth may help.

County Judge Curtis Parrish and Jordan Rackler, Precinct 4 commissioner, agree the needs are either the same or worse than last year when the walk-out spurred accusations of retaliation.

When asked about “needs verses wants,” both men agreed it’s too early to know which projects which will be the highest priorities.

Two new commissioners – Cary Shaw and Mike Dalby – took office since the last budget cycle, changing the court’s makeup. Commissioners will be confronted with the need for:

• New roads and ongoing road maintenance.
• More deputies for the sheriff’s office.
• Maintenance and repairs of older buildings including the courthouse and 916 Main Street.
• New roof at the detention center.
• A new parking garage, according to Parrish.

“We’ve got a million-and-a-half dollar roof to put on the detention center. If I delay that for another year, it’ll be $2 million. So, it’s going to have to be replaced. It has to be,” Parrish said.

The parking garage next to 916 Main Street needs to be replaced, not patched up, Parrish added. (More about 916 Main below.)

Meanwhile, votes are in place to keep property taxes low, Rackler said.

“I don’t believe that the ‘will of the court’ will be an increase in tax revenue,” Rackler said – adding that he, along with commissioners Shaw and Jason Corley, are committed to keeping the rate down.

Having talked to the county auditor, Rackler said so far, the various department budget requests are on track for the no-new-revenue rate.

Explainer: the no-new-revenue rate (click to expand)

“The No New Revenue Rate is essentially the tax rate that would produce the same revenue as the prior year,” according to a watchdog group called Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.

It does allow cities or counties to collect more for new construction. But if appraisals go up, the no-new-revenue rate goes down to offset the higher appraisals.

“There had been some discussion about doing a maintenance and facility bond. There’s been some discussion about doing the road bond to do the next phase of Woodrow Road and to do Horseshoe Bend over at Slaton.” Rackler said.

But those discussions are on ice.

“Currently in the economy that we’re in, I don’t think that a bond would pass for it,” Rackler said.

No walk-out, and a few points of agreement

The walk-out by commissioners Rackler and Corley last year was to prevent a full quorum (which we explained here) and stop the county from going above the no-new-revenue rate on property taxes.

“There won’t have to be a walkout,” Rackler said.

LubbockLights.com asked Parrish if it will be easier this budget cycle.

“I don’t anticipate easier. I think all of the same issues will still be in front of the Commissioners Court that were there last year,” Parrish answered.

“We’ve got some infrastructure issues in this county that that will absolutely need to be addressed – should have been addressed years ago,” Parrish said.

His examples:

• “We’ve got increased needs in law enforcement. We’ll need to take a serious look at the needs of increasing our patrol divisions. Lubbock County has grown quite a bit in the last six years since we’ve added patrol officers.”
• County jail: “We’ve got holes in the roof. It’s a 20-year-old building. … If we keep pushing it down the road, … we’ll also have to replace the damage that’s been caused by a leaky roof.”
• “We’ve got deteriorating buildings – buildings that have completely outgrown their use and and are literally falling apart that we need to address. I’ve got a parking garage that is in desperate need of replacement – not just repair – replacement.”
• “Our neighborhoods out in the county are growing like crazy. There’s been a lot of development in the unincorporated areas of this county. … Those neighborhoods need – there’s that word again – they need good roads.”
• “The demographer tells us we’re going to have 500,000 people in Lubbock County by 2040 and we’ve got to get ready for that,” Parrish said.

Rackler agreed with Parrish on some of the needs.

“Our infrastructure [is] dilapidated because of lack of maintenance for lack of money, and that does include the jail. We need a roof at the jail,” Rackler said.

“The sheriff’s office is wanting a few more positions. And I think if the money is available to do it, I think it’ll probably happen,” Rackler added.

Rackler and Parrish also agreed the county did not suffer the same way the city did when local sales tax number fell flat this year. The city imposed a hiring freeze in April. Not so for the county, which collects sales taxes, but it’s a much smaller component of the budget.

Parking garage and 916 Main

There’s a five-year plan for the building at 916 Main costing approximately $5 million per year, Parrish said.

“The majority of 916 renovations are for ‘life safety’ – fire sprinklers, stairwells, waterproofing, etc. … It will be up to the court as to how to pay for the needed renovations and replacement. We’ll try to figure that out this summer in budget talks,” Parrish said.

Rackler said a parking garage is about $7 million, while Parrish thought it would be about $8 million.

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