POSTED: Monday, October 1, 2012 - 6:18pm
UPDATED: Monday, October 1, 2012 - 6:25pm
Most of 20 Million Increase Funded Through Property Taxes
EL PASO COUNTY, TX — The new budget passed by commissioners court totals 282 million, 740-thousand, 633 dollars...It breezed through with surprisignly little discussion and with no citizens approaching to speak for or against it
To simplify the math just a bit, this budget means the county will spend 775-thousand dollars a day for all its departments, its salaries, its work projects and other contracts.
It's a twenty million dollar increase over last years budget, and about 17 million of that will come from higher property taxes. If you're a homeowner, you'll pay five cents more for every hundred dollars your property is worth.
Commissioner Sergio Lewis says he urged the court to hold the budget vote early today. When the decision drifted toward mid-day, he had to leave
" I never really supported the tax hike therefore i won't be here and i apologize. I tried my best to notify everybody and i'm just disappointed the court wasn't sensitive enough to move the item up."
Also today deputy constables attended the session and gathered in the hallways. Commisisoners have essentially stopped constables from using reserve deputies. Reserves can't drive a county car or even their private cars to perform work.
Precinct 3 Constable Hector Bernal tells Newschannel 9, "By having these people we're able to go out and patrol the neighborhoods, we're able to serve more of the civil papers, we're able to provide more safety to the officers because now they can go full crew as opposed to going out and serving a warrant by themselves"
Today commissioners agreed to interview Constable Bernal and all other constables this week, and by next week reconsider the ban on hiring reserve deputies. TGhat could become the first ammendment to the fiscal 2013 budget..