Commissioners set FY27 tax rate at 0.2620 after fund‑balance debate

The Rockwall County Commissioners Court voted 5–0 on Sept. 3 to set the county’s FY2027 tax rate at 0.2620 after a full day of discussion about how much of the fund balance to use to lower the rate.

County Judge opened the budget debate by urging the court to balance roads, reserves and rates: “We have the opportunity to build roads, have a decent well funded reserve, and still hit the no new revenue rate,” he said. Financial adviser Martie Shue of Hilltop Securities told commissioners that rating agencies focus on fund balance and prefer one‑time capital uses over ongoing operating support: “The rating agencies look at your fund balance… they don't look at it on a month basis,” she said, adding that a large drawdown could prompt questions unless the county shows a plan to rebuild reserves.

Commissioners weighed options: maintaining a 5‑month reserve (adding about $2 million to reserves in the whiteboard scenarios) versus lowering reserves to 4.5 months (about $4 million available to apply to the budget). After auditors and staff modeled the impacts, the court voted to adopt a rate of 0.2620 and instructed the auditor’s office to carry the revisions into the final draft and to identify specific capital offsets and line‑item adjustments to match that target. The vote concludes the special session’s major budget actions ahead of the formal adoption on Tuesday.