Community Impact Newspaper, Aug. 8, 2011: FORT WORTH — Tarrant County’s proposed budget for 2011-12 includes department cuts and increased fees and fines for residents. However, county officials say tax hikes are not on the table.

Debbie K. Schneider, director of Tarrant County’s Budget and Risk Management office, said shrinking revenue from the state, along with a more than 3 percent increase in the cost of employee health care, prompted officials to carefully trim the budget while striving to maintain an adequate level of resident services.

The proposed budget comes in at roughly $463 million, more than $6 million less than the 2010-11 operational budget.

“In March, we told all the department heads to, ‘Go back and see what you can do to lower operational costs,’” Schneider said. “We’re not the feds; we must have a balanced budget.” The cuts

For Precinct 3 Commissioner Gary Fickes, it was not a matter of what county officials would have to cut, but how much everything would need to be cut.

Though Tarrant County managed to ride the economic storms following the economic collapse back in 2008, Fickes said, the county will continue to see its effects in the coming budget year.

“We’re looking at, overall, having $5 million to $10 million less,” Fickes said. “That’s very similar to what we were dealing with during the last fiscal budget cycle.”

Fickes warned that everything is on the table when it comes to cuts, including the lion’s share of the county budget: the sheriff’s department, juvenile and felony courts, and road maintenance.

“We’re looking at everything,” Fickes said. “We’re trying to find ways where the taxpaying citizens will not be affected and we can sustain current staffing levels.”

Law enforcement and the courts cost Tarrant County taxpayers more than $10 million a year, and the proposed budget includes staffing for the new jail.

Fickes said commissioners are also cutting about $1 million from the road maintenance budget.

Such cuts are proving difficult, he said, especially after the county posted explosive population gains in the 2010 census.

Fickes’ Precinct 3, which stretches from suburban Grapevine, Southlake and Colleyville to rural Haslett and undeveloped North Fort Worth, accounted for nearly 13 percent — or a net gain of 30,000 new residents — in Tarrant County’s new population count of 1.8 million residents.

“Roads are very important, especially if you live in an area that has developed so quickly,” Fickes said. “All of the projects that we have started are slated for completion, but we may be asking our larger cities to help cover costs when it comes to funding road improvements.”

The county and a number of communities are already engaged in a road maintenance partnership to help pave and maintain new and existing road networks throughout Tarrant County. In those partnerships, cities provide materials and help cover gas expenses while the precinct road crew provides labor and equipment.

That arrangement may be altered slightly in the future thanks to the money shortage.

“We may ask for the cities to pay a little extra for gas,” Fickes said. “That’s something that we are currently looking at. Whatever we decide, the cuts are not going to be noticeable to the public.”

Fickes said commissioners will also be eyeing ways to fund increases to the indigent health care system, which has seen an uptick in requests over the past few years thanks to residents battling economic hardship and unemployment.

“This has been a tough year for a number of our families,” Fickes said. “We’ll be working with our hospital district, the John Peter Smith network, because the number of growing uninsured residents is a problem.”

Schneider, while not specific, added that residents may also see county fees and fines increase to help compensate for state cuts.

“There are a number of fees and fines that we are looking at,” Schneider said. “While we cannot increase fees that are mandated by state legislation, local fees may be altered.”

She added that many state grants, which helps offset county costs for a number of programs, may also be forced to expire without county help.

According to county budget records, more than $1 million will be lost in grant funding for the county’s criminal justice department alone.

That means mental health and felony alcohol intervention programs — which received nearly $170,000 in state grants — may also be affected.

“It’s going to be tight next year,” Fickes said, “but there is some positive news that might help offset deep cuts to county services.”

The good news

Amid the clamor of state and county budget woes, there are some flashes of positive economic news that could line county coffers with additional funds.

The Tarrant Appraisal District — a separate governing entity that appraises all county property — recently released values for 2011. While the preliminary figures show a taxable value decrease from roughly $120 billion to $118 billion, county officials expect this year’s values to increase notably by the Sept. 1 certification deadline as a result of projects coming online this month.

Higher values mean more money for the county.

“You’re seeing a lot of new commercial and industrial construction in a number of cities because developers are following the new rooftops we’ve added,” Fickes said. “In places like Alliance, they’re building very large commercial and industrial centers, which adds more value than large, single-family developments.”

Despite the challenges, county officials say they are working hard to complete a budget that satisfies taxpayers.

“We’ve lowered the tax rate three times out of the last five years, we have one of the lowest tax rates in the state . . . all of this will be taken into consideration when getting this budget passed,” Fickes said.

Commissioners will host a public hearing for the proposed $463 million budget at its regular Sept. 13 meeting. After considering residents’ comments, they will approve the budget and county tax rate, which they plan to set at 26.4 cents per $100 valuation.