Travis County Commssioners Court
September 24, 2002
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Agenda Item Eight
8. Adopt order approving the Travis County budget for fy 2003.>> you have a draft order not for signature, because -- there was one number missing. That order describes the various component parts of the budget. Which is the budget itself. Which is managed at the line item level, a budget for co's, certificates of obligation, the budget for the voter approved bonds. The personnel slo t list, elected officials salaries, budget rules that you have just approved. The auditor's Travis County in item no. 7. All in favor of the motion? That passes by unanimous vote. 8. Adopt order approving the Travis County budget for fy 2003.
>> you have a draft order not for signature, because -- there was one number missing. That order describes the various component parts of the budget. Which is the budget itself. Which is managed at the line item level, a budget for co's, certificates of obligation, the budget for the voter approved bonds. The personnel slot list, elected officials salaries, budget rules that you have just approved. The auditor's revenue estimate. Reappropriated grant funds and then motions to amend proposed budget. The total funds within the '03 budget total $704,464,450 and that's the number that is missing. The component -- parts of that are the budget which you -- which you spent nine months reviewing and adopting, plus encumbrances and estimated ceiling for encumbrances from '02, [inaudible], capital from '02, grants, and a maximum amount for bonds. And the total of all of those is 704 million, those latter amounts are estimates of a ceiling. So that you would not exceed that in your budget. Obviously the spending plan is considerably less than $704 million.
>> so you are filling in the blank on the order that we are asked to sign today.
>> yes. Counsel is providing you with a final order that is ready for signature. Which is exactly the same as what you were submitted in your backup except for that one last number.
>> that's in the file.
>> the only thing that has to be added to the signature file is a motions list that has on it the motion that you pass understand relation to the budget rules because the budget rules that are written -- that are included with the order at this point don't include that last motion.
>> okay.
>> judge, would this be the appropriate time for a last minute motion in terms of one final change to the budget before we lock it down and put fences around various and Sundayry things? Sundry things.
>> I move that we add $21,000 to the appropriate line item for keep Austin beautiful, our contract services. With the -- with the moneys coming out of the allocated reserve, I believe that this is consistent with the kinds of things that we want to do in terms of leveraging public and private dollars, it's important that the dollars that are being asked for are for the retention of -- of individuals who do things on our behalf, but also will provide for the first time health benefits. Keep Austin beautiful is not only a good partner, but it's been 13 years since they have asked for anything. Normally we would tell the department this is located and please find the dollars and make it work. In this particular instance sans that department met the challenge of not asking for very much, I think it's appropriate for the dollars to be put in that budget for keep Austin beautiful.
>> second that.
>> any more discussion of that motion? All in favor? That passes by unanimous vote. There was a fifth -- fifth revenue estimate that changed the revenue.
>> yes.
>> do we need to indicate where that goes in the budget?
>> in accordance with the instructions during markup, we -- we took those resources and put them in allocated reserves. Any change between the fourth and fifth refuse few estimate was added to allocated reserves as a balancing item.
>> so that's why the additional -- where the additional money is now?
>> that's right. You want to change it?
>> I approve -- by approving number 8 we leave it there.
>> that's correct.
>> move approval of number 8.
>> second.
>> which is the Travis County budget for fy 2003. Seconded by commissioner Davis. Any more discussion?
>> judge, when would it be appropriate for any of us to have final say about the budget to make those comments, when would you like that?
>> actually, right now is a good time.
>> I think all of us might have a few final comments if nobody else to say thank you to an awful lot of people. I'm very pleased, this is the 8th budget that I have worked on, they never seem to get any easier. They always present some kind of new challenge. This year was no exception. But I think we have a budget here that needs the mandated services that Travis County must provide as a county in the state of texas. And much of that emphasis was put on public safety, response on regional mobility, a mandate from the voters related to regional mobility, 1.7 cents of the 2-cent increase is related to the bonds which we told folks up front would be necessary in terms of an increase if those bonds did pass. I've heard some folks describe it as, well, it should be a no brainer to have supported all of those bonds. But I can tell you that there was a great deal of discussion in this community about what projects, how much, how much was affordable, we had a very vocal lively discussion, but the voters did speak, it's time on move on there, we have very serious challenges ahead as a government. We have state mandates without state fund and we have another legislative session coming our way and not knowing how many more bills will be sent our way that we are going to have to respond to. One program that I do want to talk about that is very important is that we are putting in more than $4 million for indigent attorney's fees. It is a mandate by the state of texas, they do not give us $4 million, we are going to have to make that up with property taxes. But we have a model program here in Travis County that we can be very proud of. In project apple seed, which monitors these programs around the state in terms of the adequacy of legal representation for folks who are indigent, gives Travis County an a. We ought to be very proud of that. We will continue to have the pressures, but our duties related related to indigent health care, not only in our public clinics, but in our jail. I do not think for one home that fib who is in our jail is probably -- probably is going to be in the indigent category. I do want to make it clear that we have added not subtracted but we have added $500,000 to the budget of health, human services and veterans services. And we have asked that manager to prioritize because we have a lot of mandates in that department to prioritize and come back and visit with this court about how those dollars will be spent. But it is a net add to that budget. I also want to make it clear that this court has been extraordinarily generous in the area of health and human services in other ways than other general operating fund budget. Our corporations invested $300,000 in the new meals on wheels kitchen expansion and $500,000 that will be paid over the next three years to any baby can. I think that those are appropriate investments. I'm pleased to note that this morning jail overcrowding is on our mine, but this morning in the jail report we are again under 2700 prisoners, that is extraordinarily important because we have more than $4 million sitting in reserves in case we are not able to manage the jail overcrowding crisis and it is real. We have zero people out of county. That is tremendous. We also have zero people in the hospital right now. Which is another place that we get a lot of bills. Finally, I want to say that in this budget we once again preserved the homestead exemption that is offered by Travis County, not only to folks 65 and older or who are handicapped before every single citizen you get the most generous homestead exemption that is allowed by state law. 20%, knocks it off the value off the top of on -- you are taxed on less value. There's been a great deal of discussion about whose rate is allower. I -- lower. I can tell you that I will take a lower bill over a lower tax rate any day of the week. Our cities and counties are very, very different. 700 square miles of unincorporated land, half of the land in Travis County is not taxable. Some counties and counties have the benefit of a hospital district, flood control district. Some counties never issue debt. We are not one of those counties. I think that we will have some very good discussions as we heard this morning about what should be in our legislative packet to make sure that people are paying their fair share of taxes, that we spread the burden around. And to see about making county government more responsive. I think county government is uniquely qualified to deal with a lot of the challenges of a 21 century county because we do things without regard to jurisdiction. We don't want -- don't have to pay attention to those lines, we can work with neighboring counties, but we do. My final word is thank you to planning and budget. To all of the analysts, you all have been tremendous, leroy, christian, an incredible staff to all of the departments, all of the executive managers, appointed and elected officials and to the auditor who is time after time after time brought forward proactive solutions and offered moneys and paths for us to move forward. This is a budget that shows internal and external coordination, cooperation, collaboration, i'm very proud to work for Travis County.
>> anybody else?
>> I have to -- excuse me, I have to add that I am also very pleased with staff helping us through this process. It's difficult and the difficulty of it doesn't really get minimized in the years that I have been here. But when times are good we do a lot of wonderful things in this county. When times are hard, this is one of those years, the roles that we take on as members of the court get a little tougher. That's why I ran for the job. I wanted to make those tough decisions. I think that we make this with compassion and understanding of the needs of the community. During the bond discussions, I did bring forward the concerns that people east of i-35 had. I had an obligation to do that. I also -- know that the -- that the decision was made to put the package on the ballot where -- where, you know, people had an opportunity to vote. They did. And then I explained to folks east of i-35 why -- why their bill is going to -- or their tax bill is going to increase as well. In a democracy, the majority rules. That's what the whole democratic process is about. It's been tough. But I think that -- that the court has the respect of the community. I don't believe that anybody -- I have never had any comments from anyone who said that we shortchanged them. And they -- they believe in our -- in our discussions, they actually watch, watch our discussions. Which I find interesting. And so -- so -- then we have an opportunity to discuss the issues that we discuss here. So -- so I think, though, that -- that people in the community understand hard times. For -- for a good while now, they don't have additional revenue coming in in terms of raises. But our county employee workforce does. And because this court takes care of our employees to make sure that they can take care of their families. And then they can take care of our clients, our constituencies, that's the way the connectedness in this community works. And so -- but for a long time. I think that I learned from our constituents that they don't have all of the mope that they need to operate on. And so they prioritize. They constantly prioritize. Those things that are basic are funded right off the top. When they get their paycheck. Those things that are nice to do that they can't afford to do, they just put those on hold. I believe that I have a real good connection with this, with the constituency. Not only in precinct 4, but I believe in Travis County because I have a concern for all of the people of Travis County. And I think we do a good job of trying to meet those needs. So -- so i'm very happy with the process. I mean, it was tough, but i'm happy with the -- with the end result because I think that we are still addressing those needs that need to be addressed. And we are doing it altogether as a community. So i'm very pleased with the outcome.
>> judge, I would like to say that this is my second budget, separated by a span of four years, and I would like to commend the Travis County staff which once again dem traits to me extraordinary responsiveness to the wishes and needs of this community and to our needs as a -- as representatives of that community. I want to thank also you my colleagues. It is -- it is a pleasure to be among you. We do not always agree on each and every decision, but I think that we honestly articulate our positions and listen respectfully to each other. And in a time when we had to adopt a budget that included very tough decisions, and christian, I think you heard us say no many more times than yes, during this process, I believe we came to a final place that is responsive to this community, i'm proud to cast my vote for this budget and for this tax increase. I -- I believe that with your help, we are at a place where we can not only defend, but explain this budget in a way that this community will understand it.
>> any more comments?
>> I just wanted to say this, this budget reminds me of trying to squeeze a big foot into a little shoe, a shoe that you probably would like to have, but the foot just won't fit. I would like to say that we are now -- we are now planning today of how we will look at the budget year for '04. I really firmly do not believe that we are out of the woods yet on any of this as far as the economic downturn and the things that we are experiencing with new construction, being down, I don't think all of the pieces of the economic crisis that we are experiencing here are not yet to closure. So it appears to me that we feed to be preparing -- we need to be preparing ourselves now for fiscal year '04 because I really firmly believe that things are on the horizon that we are going to have to address starting now. So -- so i'm really -- as I stated earlier, I really did not want to go into the direction of increasing folks' property taxes. I don't think anybody up here wants to do that. I think that I have stated some things earlier that justify why we are doing what we are doing here today. But again, I think that -- that the department, the county, all of us would have to really be vigil lengths and look for -- vigilant and look for ways of how we can prepare for fiscal year '04 because I firmly am not convinced and not comfortable at this point to believe that we will not be out of the economic downturn woods in f.y. '04. But again I would like to thank everybody here, p.b.o., All of the departments, all of the elected officials, appointed officials, my colleagues. Of course we've had some differences in opinion and we too not always agree -- we do not always agree. But that's fine. There's nothing wrong with not agreeing all of the time on stuff. But we have tried to come together to give the best product to the residents, taxpayers, citizens of Travis County. I think that we have done this with the format and the structure of the sound I think budget and we worked within the confinees of this budget for this fiscal year that's coming up, but looking forward for fiscal year '04 in which we know that the things are still out there that will indicate to me the forecast for '04 that's still tough budget tariff and budgetary problems that we may encounter. I think we need to be very vigilant of a tougher year for '04, we need to prepare ourselves now for the upcoming fiscal year '04. Thank you.
>> well, I agree with most of what has been said but certainly not all of it. I don't think we've been generous in the area of health and human services. This is my fourth budget at Travis County judge. I think we continue a bad practice of spending a whole lot of money reacting. And this is especially true in the area of justice and public safety. And I think that we spend too little money on the front end in prevention. I certainly think that we should have put enough money in the budget to provide $500,000 for basic needs in contracts with non-profit agencies, as the city of Austin did. I think that we ought to ask health and human services to look to performance measures, to cut wherever it can, and we ought to ask the same thing of the other 50 or so county departments. It still amazes me how much money we spend in justice and public safety. In terms of indiana dent attorney's fees we added a whole lot of money -- indigent attorney's fee. I think the judges need to hold the court appointed lawyers feet to the fire. They ought to give better service for better compensation. I think that was the idea behind the legislation. Nobody believes that they do a good job. They certainly do not visit offenders out at del valle or those in jail. We pick up the cost to bring the offenders to them in court. But the judges have assured us that they are trying to change some of these bad practices and I think it's incumbent upon us to try to help them do that. This community does a real good job of generating a lot of reports, assessments, plans, et cetera. We don't do a real good job of implementing them. In my view we need to partner more with the city of Austin, aisd and other school districts and anybody else willing to work in the area of health and human services, but it takes more than us saying that it ought to be done, it seems to me at some point we have to put enough money behind it to do it. Clearly we increased health and human services budget by $500,000 from the general fund. Maybe some additional money from corporations, but when you look at justice and public safety, we are talking about multi millions in addition. The sheriff's budget has always been the biggest one at the county and it's made even bigger by the budget decisions that we have made. We have to control the jail population. I'm firmly convinced that we ought not to build more beds. We ought to make ourselves make the current system work. Otherwise, the -- the spending for the jail population will continue to be out of control. And so as county judge, I think my responsibility is to be realistic and in health and human services we were not generous. We were not fair. We should have done more. We didn't. I was on the short end of a 3-2 vote. That's life. But it ain't life for me to sit here and act for me -- for me to act like we did a good thing when we did not. We do have a not do a good thing there. We have a lot of money in reserve. There will be hardships that face us. The federal government is looking at a budget shortfall they will pass that down to the state. The state will pass theirs down to the city and counties. We will end up having -- eating -- having to deal with these problems. We have money in reserve because it seems to me take based on my experience with county government since 1989, those problems are coming. I do think poeb staff did a -- poeb staff did a -- pbo staff did a real good job. Other departments by and large collaborated with us. We made a whole lot of specific budget decisions, we did the best that we could given the take account that we were confronted with, i'm convinced of that. So same speech that I gave in the last four years, I believe. And at some point I think that like we asked the managers, appointed elected officials to be innovative and creative, we ought to challenge ourselves to do the same thing. Those are my feelings. Anything further? There's a motion that's been seconded. All in favor? That passes by unanimous vote. Number 9. [one moment please for change in captioners] all in favor? That passes by unanimous vote.
Last Modified: Wednesday, April 2, 2003 10:25 AM