El Paso County’s preliminary budget boosts pay, raises taxes 1%
By Elida S. Perez26%
8/3/2026, 5:51:58 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 4 faulty reasoning types, including Availability Heuristic, Negativity Bias, and Anchoring Bias, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 3.6% saturation with 44 hits. Analysis detected 108 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,208 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 4.5% and a BS Rank of 1% (25,735 of 26,005 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 99.00% of the article peer group.
The El Paso County Commissioners Court is considering a preliminary $542 million general fund budget for the next fiscal year that could require a tax increase of about $164 a year on the average value home.
The county introduced its preliminary budget and proposed its voter-approval tax rate Monday, though the court could adopt a lower tax rate as it works to finalize its budget over the next month.
To adopt the no-new-revenue rate, however, the county would have to cut $40 million from the preliminary spending figures presented during the budget hearing.
The hearing outlined the preliminary budget expenditures that include pay raises for non-uniform county staff, increased spending for the Sheriff’s Office, judicial salaries and programs such as economic development and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
At the same time, culture and recreation, health and welfare, and public works will see decreases in spending.
The general fund comprises day-to-day government services such as public safety, the county jails, courts, elections and administrative offices and is supported primarily through property taxes and fees.
The county’s preliminary overall budget includes $128 million that includes enterprise funds, capital projects and debt payments.
The county on Monday introduced the voter-approval rate of about 50.4 cents per $100 of property valuation for the next fiscal year.
The voter-approval rate – the highest it can adopt without going to voters – would yield a county tax bill of $1,159 on the average value home of $194,879.
That’s an increase of about 16.5% from the tax on an average value home last year.
The county by practice the last few years has introduced the voter-approval tax rate as it works towards finalizing a budget, though it doesn’t always adopt that rate.
By law, taxing entities cannot adopt a tax rate higher than it proposes on public notices, but they can adopt a lower rate.
The no-new revenue rate is what is needed to generate the same amount of property tax revenue as the previous year on the same properties.
Much of the proposed increase to the budget comes from the Sheriff’s Office for public safety.
The office requested $161 million for the next fiscal year’s budget, about $24 million more over the current year.
The county is counterproposing with about $152 million as the two work toward a final budget before it is adopted.
The Sheriff’s Office has been a key driver in increased expenditures as the county jails spend nearly twice as much on daily overtime compared with two years ago.
The county is not authorizing any new positions in the upcoming fiscal year, but has worked with the Sheriff’s Office to implement a new staffing strategy meant to cut down on overtime expenses for jail operations it has accrued in the past year.
A public hearing on this year’s tax rate will be held Aug.
17.
The county adopts its final budget in September ahead of the fiscal year that begins Oct.
1.
The meetings mark the start of budget season for some of the region’s key taxing entities — the city, county and hospital district — as officials determine the property tax rates that will help fund public services while shaping homeowners’ tax bills for the coming year.
On Tuesday, Commissioners Court will hear the proposed budget for the El Paso County Hospital District that includes University Medical Center of El Paso and El Paso Children’s Hospital, while the El Paso City Council on Tuesday also will receive a presentation on its proposed budget and potential tax rates for the next fiscal year.
Here are some of the key proposed changes to the county budget for fiscal year 2027.
The Judge Enrique Pena Juvenile Justice Center on Delta Drive, El Paso, Texas, Thursday, April 16, 2026.
(Luis Torres/El Paso Matters)
The preliminary public safety budget, which includes the Sheriff’s Office and constables, is about $181 million, a 9% increase over the previous year.
The additional funds include about $4 million to pay raises and benefits through collective bargaining agreements and an $8 million increase for overtime for jail operations.
Non uniform-employee pay raises
The preliminary total budget includes an increase of about $5 million for 1.5% cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, and a 2.5% STEP increase, a salary increase tied to the county’s pay schedule, for all non-collective bargaining agreement employees effective Jan.
1.
The general government category that includes expenditures for administration, including the offices of the county auditor, clerk and chief administrator as well as other entities such as the El Paso Central Appraisal District and city of El Paso for tax collection services, will be about $215 million, a 17% increase.
The increase is due, in part, to increases for fleet maintenance repair, salary increases and capital improvement program increases.
County elected officials pay raises
Commissioners Court did not discuss any potential pay raises for elected officials Monday, including to themselves.
Any proposed salary boosts to elected officials including commissioners, county clerk, county attorney, district clerk and county sheriff, among others, would be presented and discussed Aug.
11.
The Commissioners Court may consider a 4% cost of living adjustment for elected officials that has been budgeted, but not yet presented, County Administrator Betsy Keller said during Monday’s budget hearing.
Keller said elected officials last received a pay raise in 2023.
The cost of living has increased by about 9% since then, she said.
Commissioners Court has not voted to give itself pay raises since commissioners approved a controversial 16% pay raise for the 2024 fiscal year.
County Commissioners get paid about $133,500 a year while the county judge’s annual salary is $152,700.
Culture and recreation
The culture and recreation category that includes county parks, pools, the digital library and golf course will see a decrease of about 6% to $10 million.
The reduction is largely due to decreases in spending for maintenance, utility and operating expenditures based on anticipated usage.
Resource development
The budget for resource development – which funds economic growth, business development and agricultural extension services – will be about $11 million.
That’s a 56% increase largely funded through uncommitted reserve funds in effort to boost its Economic Impact Fund, an incentive program designed to attract businesses to the county.
County voter-approved bonds
Voters in November 2024 approved three county bond proposals totaling about $155 million.
The funds will go toward park improvements, a new medical examiner’s office and a first-time county animal shelter.
The county has issued about $12 million in general obligation bonds as of June for the three propositions with the largest portion of about $8 million going toward park improvements.
About $2 million has been issued for the medical examiner’s office and another $2 million for the animal shelter.
Tuesday, Aug.
4 : The county and University Medical Center Board will give a presentation for the El Paso County Hospital District budget.
Sunday, Aug.
9 : County publishes notice of the proposed tax rate.
Monday-Tuesday, Aug.
10-11 : County budget hearing, potential elected official pay raises to be presented.
Monday, Aug.
17 : Public hearing on the proposed tax rate for the county and hospital district.
The post El Paso County’s preliminary budget boosts pay, raises taxes appeared first on El Paso Matters .
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.