GATESVILLE, TX — Coryell County has had a few growing pains this year with its county budget.
A new county judge, with a new way of doing things, has county department heads justifying every dime they ask for, but some people say county leaders need to deliver on some past promises.
Donna Taylor and several others went to last Thursday's special meeting of the Coryell County Commissioners Court for answers.
She wants to know why Coryell County doesn't have a new jail yet, and wants better pay for sheriff's deputies.
"Eight years ago we voted on it, we approved it and we keep getting excuses after excuses," she said.
Coryell County Commissioners had set the meeting to discuss the property tax rate they'd set for this coming year, just under 55 cents per hundred dollars of assessed value.
However, the public comments had more to do with how leaders plan to spend that money.
"I don’t know that anything prepares you for some of the questions that have been presented to us during this budget process. However the first thing we want to do is comply with state law," said Coryell County Judge Roger Miller.
The Texas Open Meetings Act requires governments to let people speak, even if the point has only superficial ties to the topic at hand.
Since a jail and employee pay qualified, commissioners got an earful.
The Coryell County Commissioners Court agreed with many of the points made in the meeting. However, they said change does not come easily this late in the budget process.
County Judge Roger Miller said a lot of work went into the county tax rate figure, and it wouldn't serve the county to start over.
”We have proposed a tax rate, and so we can’t go above that. We can go below it, view can’t go above that tax rate,” he said.
He promised Taylor's topics have become well-known to commissioners, but he didn't want to take from other departments just to help one other.
Taylor said she could see that, but wanted to know what happened to the jail voters decided to float bonds for.
"We voted on it. We approved it. We have the money for it," she said.
Now, she wants to see it and those deputy pay raises.
Coryell Commissioners will meet in a workshop meeting Thursday at 9 A.M. to discuss plans for the third and final reading of the tax rate.
That final reading is scheduled for Monday at 9 A.M.
