Where the Money is Spent

The Texas Constitution defines the structure of county governments in Texas and specifies that the major offices must consist of a county judge, county commissioners, sheriff, tax assessor, surveyor, attorney, and treasurer. Together, these officials work together, as agents of the state, to accomplish the county’s administrative duties and provide services to its residents.

Major county expenditures typically involve the cost of judicial systems, corrections and rehabilitation, health and human services, law enforcement, and economic development programs.

While the state of Texas operates on a biennial budget cycle, county governments operate on an annual budget cycle, adopting a new budget at the start of each new fiscal year. For each budget, key fiscal players in the county 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. Once the budget is deliberated and adopted, transparency and oversight initiatives are used to inform taxpayers on where their money is actually being spent.