Hays County presents public engagement results for strategic plan; water and housing top priorities

Erin Gray of LJA presented the public engagement results for Hays County's strategic plan during the commissioners court meeting on Sept. 29, summarizing 278 surveys collected between July 24 and Aug. 26 and eight listening sessions with roughly 30 stakeholders.

Gray said participants ranked infrastructure and sustainable growth, particularly water supply and conservation, as the top priority for the next five years; housing stability and homelessness prevention, animal services and preventive health were also recurring themes. She told the court that 77% of survey respondents reported living or working in Hays County five years or more and that 65 responses included San Marcos zip codes, with participation also from Kyle, Buda, Dripping Springs, Wimberley and Driftwood. Commissioners stressed the need to broaden participation beyond San Marcos neighborhoods, to tie the strategic plan to the county budget and to use the plan to shape the county's legislative agenda.

County staff said they will incorporate the court's feedback, update the plan and return in a month for adoption, then provide quarterly progress reports and publish key performance indicators online. "We collected 278 surveys," Erin Gray said, and court members asked staff to expand outreach to under‑represented parts of the county before adoption.