Travis County Commissioners Court
September 16, 2008
Item 1
And the others are ready. Number 1 is a public hearing to receive comments regarding the Travis County tax rate for the fiscal year 290 county budget.
>> move the public hearing be open.
>> second.
>> all in favor? That passes by unanimous vote.
>> good morning, judge, Commissioners.
>> good morning.
>> just real quickly want to run down the schedule of events over the next week in anticipation of the budget adoption on September 23rd. Today, of course, is the first public hearing on the proposed tax rate. The second public hearing will be held on Friday, the 19th at 9:00 a.m. Here with the proposed budget being filed on the same day. We will have a public hearing on the proposed budget on September 23rd and then adoption immediately after should the court choose to do so. Just to run real quickly through the proposed 2009 tax rate for Travis County is .4122. That is a 2.23% decrease from the fiscal 2008 tax rate. The impact on the average homeowner with all exemptions would be roughly $49 or an increase of about 5.9 or $4 per month. The total budget proposed for fiscal 2009 is $661.3 million. And that is actually a decrease over the fiscal 2008. The general fund portion of that budget is $450.8 million, which is a slight increase of 3.2% above the adopted 2008 budget. This is the 14th year that we have been able to maintain unallocated reserves at our 11% rate, and those allocated reserves are 41.4 million. Excuse me. Those are unallocated reserves of 41.4 million. With allocated reserves of 6.5 million. With that, I'll answer any questions you might have.
>> any questions from court? Would anyone like to give testimony during this public hearing? If so, please come forward. And if you would give us your name, we would be happy to get your comments.
>> good morning, judge Biscoe, Commissioners, my name is jimmy castro. I'm here to speak in support of the Travis County budget. I would like to make one personal note and that is to thank mr. Rhoades and mills on working this year's county budget including also working together with all the various departments here in Travis County. This year's budget emphasizes improving criminal justice systems, juvenile probation programs, capital projects completion, and employee compensation programs. This budget proposes a fiscally responsible approach to position Travis County to meet future obligations to its citizens and an environment of increasing economic uncertainty. Travis County again had a triple a bond rating confirmed by two national credit rating agencies. The triple a bond rating reflects the long commitment of Travis County's leadership to prudent fiscal management, particularly in terms of maintaining strong financial reserves and matched recurring revenues with recurring expenditures. I'd like to speak in support of the Travis County health care district $95 million budget. Ms. Young and her staff did an excellent job of preparing this year's budget and making the information available on their website. The Travis County health district is a family doctor for 50,000 people. I would also like to support the north central community health center. As a north Austin resident since 1980, I've talked with several neighbors and parents from the area schools. They all support the community health center. Both north Austin medical center and the Austin diagnostic clinic staff are expanding the facilities to handle the growth in this area. The staff from both facilities have told me, jimmy, it isn't just the insured family population that has grown in the north central area, it is also the uninsured and underinsured individuals and families that cannot afford to see a doctor or pay for their medications. The staff of north Austin medical center inform me of around 300 babies delivered each month. These babies will require appropriate health care and good schools. This clinic will serve a huge purpose in that it will help to defer the traffic from the emergency room who should service true emergencies. This is preferable to addressing their staff and bed space to minor care issues that would be as adequately serviced by a clinic geared for that specific purpose. The clinic is also to be situated directly on braker lane, which is a main thoroughfare. Traffic to the clinic will directly come from breaker. In closing I would like to say what a positive thing this will be to the community. It is another advancement in the effort to make appropriate, affordable care a reality in Travis County while maintaining an adequate, efficient and appropriately utilized emergency room system. Thank you, judge and Commissioners.
>> thank you.
>> thank you.
>> thank you. Would anyone else like to give testimony during this public hearing?
>> move the public hearing be closed.
>> second.
>> all in favor? That passes by unanimous vote. And there's a public hearing scheduled for this Friday also?
>> yes, sir, 9:00 a.m.
>> 9:00 a.m. Here in the courtroom.
>> judge, can I ask a question?
>> yes, sir.
>> rodney -- or leroy, on the one page, the notice of the tax revenue increase, tell me the total revenue raised last year, 358 million, on that page with me, that second paragraph? Are you with me on the second paragraph where it says that last year's raised 358?
>> yes, sir.
>> does that number include new value as well? Or is that just from the .4216 generation of dollars?
>> that's the total revenue.
>> so that is the total.
>> that's correct.
>> the 358 would be compared to this year's down this the fourth paragraph of 392. 392 million. Because that one -- that one clearly states that there are is from the tax plus the new property added.
>> correct.
>> but the 358 up above, that also has new property for that value as well.
>> that's correct.
>> so the dollars that we generated this year versus last year was the difference between the 392 and the 358.
>> right.
>> which would be what percentage, I guess 10% would be 35 million, you know, on to that. So that's close to 10%?
>> 9.5.
>> 9.5%. So we basically generated about 9.5% more money this year than we had over last year.
>> that's correct.
>> okay. Thank y'all.
>> any other questions? We will further discuss the budget on item number 6 today.
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Last Modified:
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 2:37 AM