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Budget requests slashed


Commissioners say no to increases for sheriff, library, fairplex and more

Melissa Federspill

Staff writer

The Uvalde County budget is getting closer to being balanced after a workshop held Tuesday evening, when commissioners removed several budget requests in an effort to shrink the gap between projected expenses and revenue in the general fund and road and bridge fund.

All other funds are balanced.

This is the third budget workshop held, following the release of a proposed budget draft containing initial revenue projections totaling $29,642,373 and expenditures of $30,398,477.

At the start of the budget workshop on Tuesday, the general fund had a deficit of $189,155 and the road and bridge fund had a shortage of $361,626.

To finalize the proposed budget, county commissioners are waiting for certified property tax values from the Uvalde County Appraisal District.

They are expecting to receive the data by late July, upon which another budget workshop will be held before a balanced budget is adopted.

Despite not having final numbers, Uvalde County Judge Bill Mitchell recommended the financial team begin the trimming process based on the information that was available.

To reconcile the general fund, the commissioners discussed the removal of a spattering of additional funding requests – some from the community resources budget line which includes Southwest Area Regional Transit District, $20,000; K’STAR family crisis counseling, $3,000; Uvalde Food Pantry, $5,000.

They also nixed El Progreso Memorial Library’s funding increase of $5,000, leaving it at the previous $127,000 instead of the requested $132,000; Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office, which had requested  a salary allotment for a new deputy, $59,448, and a new vehicle, $54,000; and others such as shrinking the courthouse renovation funding by $20,000.

Those changes reduced the deficit to approximately $23,000.

The commissioners also proposed limiting the appraisal district’s requested budget increase to 7.99 percent, but the calculations for making that change were not readily available during the meeting.

Adjustments made to the road and bridge fund, included trimming requests from Uvalde County Fairplex for an exhaust system and lighting on the concourse, reducing the Fairplex budget request to approximately $44,000; and several other areas including capital outlay in the environmental section of $20,000; and road and bridge capital outlay reduced by $30,000; staffing requests, and CDL stipend, $7,000.

The commissioners’ focus on road and bridge reduced the shortage to within $200,000.

All four commissioners – Randy Scheide, Mariano Pargas, Jerry Bates and Ronnie Garza – and Uvalde County Judge Bill Mitchell were present for the workshop.

The workshop is not a final approval of the budget changes, and to continue the effort of balancing the budget the commissioners set another budget workshop for Wednesday, July 31 at noon, dependent on receiving values from UCAD.

Uvalde County Courthouse

Uvalde County Courthouse

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