County Adopts New Tax Rate and 2026 Budget
Fayette County Commissioners held a public hearing at the meeting last Thursday, Sept. 11, over the property tax rate for next year.
Commissioners had proposed a property tax rate of $0.40984 per $100 of taxable property value. That is the highest they could have set the rate without calling a special tax ratification election. It amounts to a 4.7 percent tax increase. It would increase taxes by $18.49 on a $100,000 home.
No one from the public spoke during the hearing. Later in the meeting, commissioners unanimously approved the new tax rate.
They also officially adopted the 2026 County Budget, with expenses totaling $36,029,895.77. The General Fund, which accounts for most Countyoperationsotherthanthe road and bridge departments, came in at $26,539,569.18. This is the first time the County has managed to shrink the annual budget since 2016. Expenses in the General Fund fell by more than $428,000 compared to the current year budget.
In other business, the Commissioners Court signed a mutual- aid agreement with Live Oak County and Kerr County. The agreement will allow the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office to conduct joint operations with law enforcement in those counties. The agreement states that it extends “to the deputies and officers employed by the counties and agencies the authority to investigate possible crimes and to make arrests throughout the region or area covered by this agreement.”
The document also states that counties signed on to the agreement “may also assist one another in times of civil emergency.”
“Most of this is drug interdiction,” said Chief Deputy Randy Noviskie of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.
Noviskie said the Sheriff’s Office needs the agreement so that Fayette County deputies can participate in a drug task force based out of Kerr County. Kerr County is located northwest of San Antonio, about 160 miles from La Grange. Live Oak County has also signed onto the agreement. The county seat, George West, is located south of San Antonio and also about 160 miles from La Grange.
Assistant County Attorney Blake Watson said he checked with the County’s insurance providers and confirmed that any Fayette County employees participating in activities outside of the County would be covered by the County’s insurance policies.