Stephens County Commissioners approve FY27 budget, tax rate, and salary adjustments
During their regular meeting this morning, Monday, Sept. 28, the Stephens County Commissioners Court voted to adopt the county’s FY27 budget, set the 2026 ad valorem tax rate at $0.658000 per $100 of taxable value, and approve an annual salary increase of $3,400 for elected county officials.
Two of the commissioners – Will Warren, precinct 3, and Tanner Wade, precinct 4 – attended the meeting remotely via FaceTime.
With no citizens showing up to speak at the meeting’s three public hearings regarding the proposed budget, property tax rate and officials’ compensation, the meeting was wrapped up in 15 minutes.
Stephens County Commissioners Mark McCullough, left, and David Fambro, right, discuss the burn ban after Fire Marshal Malcolm Bufkin, center, recommended leaving the current extended burn ban in place. The commissioners agreed with his assessment and took no action on the agenda item at this morning’s meeting. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Following the hearings, commissioners took action to set the elected officials’ salaries, expenses, and allowances for the fiscal year beginning Jan. 1, 2027. In addition to the $3,400 annual salary increase for elected officers other than the County Judge, the action included a $400 reduction in the County Judge’s annual vehicle allowance.
By record vote, the court formally adopted the Stephens County budget for the fiscal year running from Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2027. In a separate record vote, the court ratified the property tax increase reflected in the new budget.
Commissioners also took a record vote to adopt the 2026 ad valorem tax rate of $0.658000 per $100 of taxable value. The adopted rate consists of a maintenance and operations rate of $0.535085 and a debt service rate of $0.122915 per $100 of taxable value. The rate exceeds the county’s no-new-revenue rate of $0.606769 per $100, but does not exceed the voter-approval rate of $0.658700 per $100.
The agenda items for the tax rate and salary increases initially had the wrong dates, and that mistake was corrected by the commissioners to the correct dates before the items were voted on.
In other business, the court took no action regarding the burn ban for Stephens County, leaving in place the expanded burn ban they enacted several weeks ago, and tabled the appointment of a representative to the Stephens County Appraisal District Board of Directors.
They also approved the following items:
- The consent agenda, which included filing for record the completion of Incident Command System training for County Judge William Thompson and reviewing and approving accounts payable.
- Overtime pay for county yard hands working on the chip-sealing project. Commissioner David Fambro emphasized that the overtime approval is for that specific project only.
- Declaring a 2013 Case IH Farmall Tractor with a Case IH L630 Loader and Brush Attachment as surplus property, authorizing its advertisement and sale through competitive sealed bids.
Cutline, top photo: At their regular meeting this morning, Sept. 28, Stephens County Commissioners David Fambro (Precinct 1), left, and Mark McCullough (Precinct 2), right, and County Judge Will Thompson, center, met in person at the county annex building. Commissioners Will Warren (Precinct 3) and Tanner Wade (Precinct 4) participated in the meeting via FaceTime. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
