Maverick County Faces Difficult Decisions Amid $4.8 Million Budget Shortfall
By Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2026 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
The Maverick County Commissioners Court held back-to-back meetings this week on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 8-9, 2026 as county leaders continued searching for a way to close a projected budget shortfall of nearly $4.8 million before the beginning of the 2026–2027 fiscal year.
Commissioners met during a special meeting Tuesday, September 8, followed by their regular meeting Wednesday, September 9 as the county enters a critical stage of the budget process.
The proposed budget submitted to the court is not the county’s final spending plan. It remains a working document that commissioners can revise and change before its eventual adoption.
However, the preliminary proposal has not been warmly received by several elected officials, department heads and county employees because of the extensive reductions being considered.
Preliminary figures previously presented to the court showed approximately $23.6 million in projected revenue and about $28.5 million in expenditures, leaving county officials with a gap approaching $4.8 million.
Among the most serious concerns are proposed reductions approaching $600,000 across public safety operations. Earlier discussions included a major reduction in funding for the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office, including cutting overtime and holiday pay from approximately $208,000 to about $10,000 and leaving only limited money for training. Those reductions have raised concerns because the Sheriff’s Office already operates with limited personnel while providing law enforcement coverage throughout the county.
County leaders have also discussed reducing employee schedules as another possible cost-cutting measure. Options mentioned during the budget discussions included cutting as many as eight hours and possibly up to 16 hours from certain employees’ weekly schedules.
Such reductions could effectively move some full-time employees to three-day or four-day workweeks while significantly reducing their take-home pay.
Department heads and employees questioned how those cuts would affect county services and their ability to meet household expenses.
At the same time, questions have been raised over whether certain professional service agreements and other county contracts should remain funded while frontline departments and employees are being asked to make sacrifices.
Commissioners must determine which contracts are legally required, which provide essential services and which could be renegotiated, postponed or eliminated.
The court has also examined whether an increase in the county’s ad valorem tax rate could generate additional revenue. However, the county’s ability to raise the rate without triggering the state’s voter-approval process is limited.
County officials could consider an increase of approximately one cent to one and a half cents, but preliminary estimates indicated that such an adjustment could produce only a few hundred thousand dollars.
That amount would cover only a small portion of the nearly $4.8 million shortfall.
Under Texas law, property-tax limits are calculated through the no-new-revenue and voter-approval tax rates rather than simply through a fixed number of cents. A rate exceeding the applicable voter-approval threshold can require an election.
The county’s financial difficulties were worsened by the loss of approximately $2 million connected to a jail contract that had previously produced revenue.
Declining available revenue, continuing payroll obligations, public safety costs and other operating expenses have now forced commissioners to examine nearly every section of the budget.
After two meetings this week, no complete solution had emerged publicly.
Appointed Interim County Judge Pablo Garcia, Jr., County Auditor Gloria Barrientos and the four county commissioners now face a narrowing timeline to balance revenues and expenditures.
County Commissioners are Roberto Ruiz, Olga Ramos, Roxi Rios, Yolanda P. Ramon, and Interim County Judge Pablo Garcia, Jr.
The court may ultimately need a combination of departmental reductions, contract changes, new revenue, reserve funds and other adjustments.
No single option discussed so far appears capable of eliminating the entire deficit.
The decisions made during the next one or two weeks could determine not only the final tax rate but also staffing levels, employee pay, public safety resources and the county services residents receive during the coming fiscal year.
Maverick County has posted its proposed fiscal year 2027 budget through its official financial transparency portal. The document remains subject to revisions before final adoption.
