Travis County Commissioners Court
July 17, 2007
Item 6
Item 6. That's item number 6. We've got our attention last week. Consider and take appropriate action on draft advertisement for public hearing to set elected officials' salaries for fy '08 and calendar for actions for the remainder of the salary-setting process. What we heard last week was that we can later change our mind and go down from the advertised salary for elected officials, but we cannot go up. >> that's right. The only changes to the ad -- there's one correction I need to make. Your public hearing will not be on July 31st. It will be August 7th, 2007. If you approve an ad today, I did add the footnotes as directed last week, eight and nine, for the Commissioners and what we need today is what percent increase you would like to include. You have an additional sheet of backup, the last page of your backup shows you a range of percentages. The effect on the individuals' salary and the total impact for the elected officials' salary. And then the estimated impact or the rounded I am fookt the rank and file in pops below that. So there are a series of numbers there for you to evaluate. >> and we have received the third revenue estimate formally from the auditor's office. And we can assure you that we will be able to include a four and a half percent compensation reserve in the preliminary budget. There was additional revenue that is available, ongoing revenue, not just one time. And now that is a little over eight and a half million dollars. We will be recommending one compensation reserve, and of course you will have to address a variety of compensation issues related to that amount, but if the court decided to equally distribute that amount to all employees, it would equal four and a half percent. You may remember last Tuesday there was a continuation of the thought that we might have to keep it at three and a half, but that additional revenue has helped out. So this may help you make your decision today. >> I think the only amount we didn't try last week was the four and a half percent. >> we did. >> yeah, we did. I seconded it. >> yes, but I didn't have this information in front of me. >> I move the four and a half percent again. >> second. Oh, he already did it. >> I'll take two seconds. [ laughter ] >> and that is a decrease in the tax rate and for the second year in a row an average decrease in the average amount paid by the average homestead owner. In the preliminary budget. >> any more discussion of the motion? Father and a half percent? >> so four and a half percent and everything else that you've got in the preliminary budget and you stayed with a four percent cap over spending over last year? >> on property tax revenue, that's correct. Property tax revenue has increased to the four percent cap. And actually, total revenue in the third revenue estimate is actually under that four percent when you add other revenue and ending fund balance. >> four percent spending over last year. >> on property tax revenue. We have a four percent revenue cap and spending is less than four percent. But we can go with camp at four and a half because there are many, many dozens of other changes, and you will see that in the preliminary budget. >> if the revenue projections after today are such that we need to reduce the amount, we can. We just cannot increase it over four and a half percent. >> that's correct. >> as advertised. In other words, it's hit the media and the folks look at this and they say four and a half percent, we can't exceed that amount. We can always come back to less than that amount, if my understanding is correct. >> and this is approval of a percentage for the advertisement for your public hearing, which is on August 7th, and thn you'll set the salary that day. >> we have to do this because by law elected officials have to have a certain amount of time to file a grievance if they choose to do so, and we need to do this now and get the ad out and give them an opportunity. Not that we wish they would file one, but if they wish to file one, they have time and we can go forward with the rest of the schedule for the preliminary budget, the budget hearings and adoption of the budget, which we go through every year. >> correct. >> any more discussion? All in favor? Show Commissioners Gomez, Davis, eckhardt and yours truly voting in favor. Commissioner Daugherty voting against. Christian, if I had known it would have been that easy I would have brought it up a whole lot earlier.
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Last Modified:
Wednesday, July 18, 2007, 18:30 AM