BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — All but one member of the Bexar County Commissioners Court voted to approve the $2.95 billion budget on Tuesday.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert abstained from voting to approve the FY 2024 budget, calling the process "broken."
“It isn’t with integrity and it isn’t transparent,” he said.
Calvert, the longest-serving member on the current commissioners court, has spent weeks arguing how he believes the budgetary process is not transparent and instead filled with inequity. He’s pressed on the issue of a $10.5 million spending cap for certain projects in each precinct, which the commissioner said was a decision made behind closed doors.
“Organizations were cut, senior programs were cut, military protection was cut, job-creating programs were cut," Calvert said at Tuesday's meeting. "It did not have to be this way. We are not in a budget crisis. We had a random cap prevent us from doing things like planting more trees in other parts of the county."
Commissioners praised the public safety allotment of funding, which has remained a top demand by the community, according to Precinct 3 Commissioner Grant Moody.
The budget allocates $752 million in Operating Appropriations, $875 million in capital projects and $164 million for debt service.
The General Fund amounts to $632.8 million, which is a $64 million increase from the previous year's operating budget. Bexar County taxpayers are looking at a tax rate of $0.299999, same as last year.
County officials say it's the 29th year in a row where Bexar County has lowered or maintained its tax rate for property owners.
In August, commissioners approved a median 9% pay raise for Bexar County sheriff’s deputies and a 7.23% raise for entry-level detention cadets.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar noted the hiring of new deputies over the next year will prove beneficial in addressing the challenges that come with keeping up with what he refers to as “urban sprawl.”
“Right now, about 72 people in the pipeline. I’ve got about 80 cadets among several different cadet classes going through so it’s a great time to add 50 new positions,” Salazar told commissioners.
In addition to 50 new deputies, the approved budget affords 16 deputy constable positions to be divided between the four precincts.
First-term Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai expressed gratitude for the work performed by the budget department to assemble the budget, which has remained a contentious topic.
“I’m delighted to have my priorities reflected in the first budget passed by the Bexar County Commissioners Court since I was elected County Judge. Public safety, public health and economic development are critically important to everyone in Bexar County and this budget reflects those priorities,” he says, noting the work required to reach a consensus. “This is what democracy looks like."
The judge also acknowledged a need for change in the budget process to have a more community-centric approach.
“I’m already looking ahead to next year’s budget. I want to start earlier and make the process more transparent,” Sakai said. "We can do better and I demand that we do better."
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