Comal County commissioners added several amendments to Judge Sherman Krause’s recommendations before approving a $121.6 million 2022 county budget on Thursday.
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Since their July 9 workshop that saw $116.9 million in 2022 budget requests from department heads, Comal County commissioners on Thursday will receive Judge Sherman Krauseâs recommended budget and discuss setting dates to approve it and the countyâs new tax rate.
The countyâs $107.9 million 2021 budget went into effect Jan. 1, funded by a 2020 combined tax rate of 35.8515 cents per $100 assessed property valuation. Last Thursday, July 22, the Comal Appraisal District, which assesses and certifies values of taxable properties, released its 2021 certified lists of net taxable values in the county, which rose by 14.44% since 2020, from $21.267 billion to $24.337 billion.
CAD values enable the county to project income and expenses for several county funds for general operations, jury, indigent health, debt service, road and bridge, and flood control.Â
Comal County Commissioners on Thursday will consider approving change orders for Annex and sheriffâs office renovations in their final meeting before Judge Sherman Krause presents his 2022 recommended budget next week.
On the backburner are proposed boat ramp rules changes out at Canyon Lake, which havenât been forgotten, Krause said.
âI donât know if we have another workshop planned but weâre still working with law enforcement to get their input on what they would like to see and what they need to enforce the rules,â the judge said. âAll of that will go into what we end up with.â
Comal Countyâs four justices of the peace and constables made their cases for additional manpower and bigger operating budgets before county commissioners, whose budget workshop entertained more than $116.9 million in 2022 budget requests on Thursday.
The eight offices, two serving each of the countyâs four precincts, said county growth now demands more and more processing of civil and criminal matters and an almost overwhelming glut of paperwork.
The countyâs four justices of the peace, each earning $63,152 annually, try to rotate weekends on legal pronouncements of deaths â from scenes of car accidents, drownings on lakes and rivers, to non-natural deaths in hospitals. Precinct 3 JP Mike Rust said caseloads and death inquests have gone up by â94% or 95%â since 2015.