Key Players

While the state of Texas operates a biennial budget cycle, Texas’ county governments adopt a new budget at the start of each new fiscal year. Key players begin the budget process by forecasting a county’s expenditures and revenue in the forthcoming year. Input from the public and county departments are taken into consideration during the planning process. A preliminary budget is drafted to reflect the funding needed to provide county services to the public.

Commissioners Court
The central governing unit of a Texas county is the commissioners court. Texas’ 254 counties each have one county judge and four county precinct commissioners that serve on a county’s commissioners court. One of the primary responsibilities of a commissioners court is managing and monitoring the county’s financial health.

The county judge, the presiding officer of the commissioners’ court, is a key player in a county’s budget process. Commissioners and the county judge work together to forecast a county’s necessary funding initiatives during the next year and have voting authority over the budget approval process. The county judge functions as a budget officer in largely populated counties, those with populations of more than 225,000.

Budget Offices
Counties with large populations generally have a department dedicated to planning and drafting the county budget. The budget office works closely with the commissioners court that ultimately makes decisions regarding a budget office’s proposals. Each county complies with its own budget schedule for proper budget implementation each fiscal year.

County Auditor
County auditors serve a major role in the county budget process. Elected as the county’s financial oversight officer, the county auditor has a role in the budget process after the budget’s implementation. Compliance with the county budget is the responsibility of a county auditor, ensuring that county departments keep within budgeted expenditures based on a county’s estimated revenue.

General Overview of  a Texas County Budget Process

 

Editors Note: Chart depicts a broad view of county government revenue, not specific to any county