The Wise County Courthouse in Decatur through a wide angle lens. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER

More than $641 million in new construction and stabilizing mineral values are allowing Wise County officials to leverage a slightly lower tax rate into a larger investment in public safety and county roads in the next fiscal year.

County Judge J.D. Clark presented a draft of the budget to commissioners Tuesday, which would be funded by a 26.5-cent per $100 valuation tax rate. The proposed rate has been reduced one cent from the current 27.5-cent rate, and more than three cents below the state’s 3.5 percent revenue cap.

The proposed 1-cent decrease was drawn from the county’s general fund rate (21.75 cents). The county’s road and bridge portion of the rate would remain at 4.75 cents, allowing for increases to each precinct’s fund for road improvements.

That budget growth through a lower tax rate is possible because of the county’s certified taxable values increasing to $14.99 billion, up from $13.83 billion. Certified taxable values are the appraised value of nonexempt property subject to state and local property taxes.

This year, the county’s value rise was a combination of appraised value increases (existing properties), new value added to the tax rolls (new homes and buildings), and the county avoiding the $1 billion hit to taxable values it saw last year from nosediving natural gas prices.

This year, mineral values still decreased, but not nearly as sharply, allowing new construction to help fund expanding services. While the proposed rate would generate an additional $1.47 million in revenue, Clark pointed out that $1.36 million (92.4 percent) of that total comes directly from new properties added to the county’s tax roll.

“If you were here last year, it was a tough budget because we knew there was growth, and more people meant more demand on services. But those mineral values more than wiped out all of the revenue from new construction,” Clark said.

“… If you’re going to be building and moving here, we want you to help contribute to the demand on the services,” he added. “But there’s also a factor that existing taxpayers have seen their values climb. We would like to see some relief from that. We don’t control their values, but we can do something on the rate.”

Clark said valuation factors, along with another strong year of sales tax revenue — plus the service demands of a county population that surpassed 84,000 as of July 2024 — led to his proposal of the 26.5-cent rate.

Tax rate

• Proposed tax rate: 26.5 cents per $100 valuation.
  • 21.75 cents general fund, 4.75 cent road and bridge (FMLR)
  • This is the rate the county is actually proposing for the 2026 fiscal year.
  • The county’s portion of the property tax bill would be $727.77 on a $274,633 home (Wise County average)
• “No new revenue rate”
  • 26.03 cents per $100 valuation
    • (The rate that would generate identical to the previous budget based on this year’s values)
• “Voter approval tax rate”
  • 29.71 cents per $100 valuation (represents the lowest rate that would exceed the 3.5 percent revenue cap and trigger an election). 

Clark said meeting growing service demands and a focus on public safety and roads were guiding factors in the development of the proposed budget.

The budget proposes 3 percent payroll increases that will be dispersed at the discretion of department heads. For public safety, the county plans to fund four new positions, in addition to providing additional retention and recruitment resources.

The $48.8 million in projected general fund revenue and expenses are balanced. The road and bridge fund under the proposed budget would get a stronger shot in the arm compared to the general fund, with its rate remaining the same between FY 2025 and 2026.

“I’m proud of this budget,” Clark said. “I think this is a healthy, responsible budget for Wise County.”

Proposed budget in brief

General fund

• Expenses and revenues balanced at $48,813,912 
  • $32.1 million of revenue generated by property taxes
    • Primary driver of increase from $47.2 million in FY 2025 is personnel/payroll.
  • New budget includes four new full time public safety positions between Wise County EMS and WCSO as well as pay/retention/recruitment raises. No additional full time positions have been proposed at the county in FY 2026.
    • There are 415 full-time county employees (excluding adult probation)
• Wise County Sheriff’s Office
  • $17.3 million of general fund budget
    • Three percent payroll increase for merit pay/recruitment/retention, as determined by Sheriff, plus $180,000 in additional funding dedicated to help currently funded vacancies.
    • Creates one additional traffic enforcement deputy position.
      • (Addition will bring total to two traffic enforcement deputies in FY 2026. Eventually WCSO plans to staff traffic enforcement dedicated to each of the four precincts)
    • Due to vacancies, and rising base pay at surrounding agencies, Sheriff Cary Mellema requested that the proposed creation of two additional patrol deputy positions, an estimated $180,000 line item, instead be dedicated to retention and recruitment efforts to help fill deputy vacancies (7 total). This increase is in addition to base 3-percent payroll increase.
    • County anticipates $500,000 SB 22 grant for WCSO for merit pay increases and equipment purchases. The same SB 22 grant provides up to $275,000 to district and county attorney offices. Clark said the Wise County District Attorney James Stainton has prioritized an additional investigator. 
    • WCSO staffing total includes deputy position to patrol cities of New Fairview and Paradise (“budget neutral” position funded by cities, not by county)
• Wise County EMS 
  • Three full-time Wise County EMS positions created to staff new station in Alvord.
    • Wise County EMS Chief Randall Preuninger said six will be needed to fully staff ambulance at the station. He plans to use part time staff to supplement until future budgets can tackle full staffing.
      • Station construction, entirely funded through sales tax revenue, is currently in the works. The foundation at EMS Station 5 was laid last week. The City of Alvord donated the land for the station. It will be located at U.S. 81/287 and Farm Road 1655, near the Alvord water tower. This will be second EMS built in last three years with the EMS Station 4 in New Fairview opening in 2022. Medic 4 in New Fairview cut response times in the area in half, while dramatically reducing the load on the unit in Boyd. The county anticipates a similar result in the northwest quadrant of the county with its fifth EMS station, easing reliance on Station 2’s crews in Bridgeport.
• Additional public safety/judicial budget notes
  • $1.3 million in funding to Wise County fire departments. 
    • $1.223 million is divided equally among all 17 departments. Remaining $75k distributed by demand formula.
  • Total FY 2026 public safety and judicial system spending amounts to $31.2 million, which is 64 percent of general fund spending for FY 2026.
    • A portion of that increased investment includes the creation of a part time clerical position shared by Wise County’s four constables, up to 32 hours a week.
      • Clark said growth has shifted roles and responsibilities of constables, who are now overloaded with paper work. 
      • Plan is to convert to PT assistant to FT in future budget.
    • District clerk pay increase brought to match county clerk, which exceeds 3 percent pay increase standard among elected officials and department heads in FY 2026 budget. 
    • Increased expenses from capital murder cases/expert witnesses.
      • Clark said state may provide additional reimbursement but how much relief for trials and expert witnesses remains unclear.

Road and Bridge budget

• $8.54 million in precinct road funding
  • FY 2025 budget was $7.8 million.
• $1.05 million added to reserves and $1.4 million added to county’s right-of-way fund.
• FY 2026 road funding by precinct are as follows:
  • • Pct. 1, $2.14 million, up $162,600 
    • Pct. 2, $2.46 million, up $206,000
    • Pct. 3, $1.92 million, up $152,800
    • Pct. 4, $2.03 million, up $156,700
• Officials and engineers currently developing new Wise County master thoroughfare plan to identify future road improvements and to increase chances of securing large state funding grants.
  • The study is expected to be completed under this fiscal year, with engineering and consulting fees accounted for in FY 2026.

Sales tax

• County has budgeted for $8.35 million in sales tax revenue for FY 2026 
  • FY 2025 sales tax revenue on pace to reach $8 million, surpassing record set in 2023-24.
  • $2.99 million in projects financed through sales tax revenue this year.
    • Recent projects paid by county’s sales tax revenue from half-cent levy include facilities and large equipment purchases. Recent tax note series, funded by sales tax revenue, included: Construction of Alvord EMS station; EMS equipment and apparatuses; security upgrades at Wise County jail and court facilities; fleet replacement and upgrades at WCSO and other county divisions; heavy equipment purchases for precincts.
• Children’s Advocacy Center funding increased
  • County budget allocates $50,000 to support role in community, up from $35,000
• The county will account for a 4.4 percent increase to its health care renewals in the upcoming budget.
  • Wise County participates in the Texas Association of Counties Health and Employee Benefits Pool, which Clark said has softened the impact of rate increases. (Original rate cost increase estimated at 8 percent) 

Commissioners voted to unanimously to propose the 26.5-cent property tax rate, as well as schedule a series of public hearings on the rate and budget. The public hearings will begin at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 8 before the regular meeting begins at the Wise County Law Enforcement Center. 

Additionally, they approved proposing a 3.15 cent Weatherford College Wise County branch campus maintenance tax, down from 3.25 cents per $100 valuation. 

The proposed budget is available for review here. Historical tax rate and budget information is also available on the Wise County website.