Gonzales County Commissioners Court proposes 2020 budget

Though an uphill battle at times during the workshop, Gonzales County Judge Pat Davis and the Commissioners Court have agreed to propose a budget for fiscal year 2019-2020. This budget is the first proposed since Davis took over as county judge in January.

Pulling from figures from the previous budget and a budget composed by the county judge, the new budget—effectively known as the commissioners court proposed budget—was formally proposed Aug. 26 and subsequently filed for public inspection at the Randle-Rather Building.

Hammered out over the course of few workshops, the budget features some changes from the previous year, as well as a new tax rate.

The court proposed adopting the effective rate of $0.3809 per $100 of valuation at the Aug. 12 meeting. Though the rate is a slight decrease from the previous year’s, the county projects a 0.70 percent increase in property tax revenue for the upcoming fiscal year.

Perhaps the most noteworthy change to the county budget was the elimination of the chief clerk position. The former position had been a point of contention between Davis and members of the court. In place of the position is a three-tiered clerkship model with a salary scale that increases at each position level. Clerk ones can make up to $20.36, clerk twos up to $21.00 and clerk threes up to $22.57. The clerk three position is meant to be analogous to the chief clerk, though there is a 43-cent difference in pay between the positions.

It was agreed that the four current chief clerks in county would retain their position and salary so long as they stay in their given office. The court also agreed to place a clerk three position in the county judge’s and attorney’s office.

Other changes to the budget during the workshop include allocating an additional $3,500 to Gonzales County Rescue and Recovery and the creation of a full-time clerk position in the Office of Emergency Management and Permits.

A public hearing for the proposed budget is scheduled for Sept. 16