EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso County Commissoiners Court will take a couple of key steps in the budget process for fiscal year 2026 during its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Aug. 4.
The county commissioners will hear two key presentations during the meeting to kick off the budget process.
First, the El Paso Central Appraisal District (CAD) will present certified property values for the 2025 tax year.
CAD is an independent agency responsible for determining the taxable value of real and personal property across the County, based on market conditions and appraisal standards.
Next, the El Paso County tax assessor collector will present FY 2026 County tax rate options based on the Texas State comptroller’s methodology.
It is important to understand the distinction between property values and the tax rate, the County said in its news release:
• CAD sets property values. These valuations reflect the prevailing market conditions in the region and are not determined by the Commissioners Court or the County.
• El Paso County sets only its portion of the tax rate, which determines how much revenue the County will collect to fund services. The County’s portion represents approximately 16 cents of every dollar paid in property taxes, it said.
The remainder goes to entities such as school districts, municipalities, University Medical Center, El Paso Community College, and emergency service districts, the County said.
By policy, El Paso County will propose the “voter approval rate” to provide the Commissioners Court a benchmark and latitude necessary as the County heads into budget discussions, the news release said.
The tax rate ultimately adopted by Commissioners Court will apply to the certified values provided by CAD, and will be finalized following a public hearing later in August.
By law, the Commissioners Court may adopt a rate at or below the voter approval tax rate without triggering an election.
Here are some key dates and topics in the County’s budget timeline :
Aug. 4 — Receive tax rates from tax assessor and proposed County tax rate from staff
Aug. 5 — UMC budget session
Aug. 11 — County budget hearing and proposed budget presentation
Aug. 18 — Emergency Services districts No. 1 and No. 2 budget and tax rate adoption
Aug. 18 — Public hearing and adoption of County tax rate
Aug. 25 — If needed: Backup tax rate adoption; UMC budget and tax rate adoption
Sept. 15 — Final public hearing and adoption of FY26 County budget
Read: Read More