County Clerks employees salaries and County Volunteer Fire Departments allotments a concern for many regarding the 2025-2026 proposed budget
Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian
09-07-25
On Monday morning, September 8th, 2025 at 10AM the Uvalde County Commissioners Court is set to cast a final vote on the proposed 2025/2026 Uvalde County Budget following a public hearing at the Uvalde County Courthouse. It is not clear of those who cannot attend this vote can access the live-stream video of the proceeds due to a history of glitches with the Uvalde County Audio/Video Equipment.
According to a notice posted on the Uvalde County Website about the public hearing, it states that the total proposed budget will raise more total property taxes than last year’s budget by $2,132,665 or 13.61% and of that amount, $213,715.00in new property added to the tax rolls this year.
The notice also states that the proposed budget includes a 5% cost of living adjustment.
A copy of the final budget draft can be found here.
The total proposed budget for Uvalde County is $65,141,518.07 up from the amended budget passed in 2024 which was $44,588,585.45 according to the County of Uvalde Budget 2025-2026 budget posted on the County’s website.
It is not clear if $10 million the court agreed to borrow this year is included in the proposed budget.
Concerns raised about the 2025-2026 proposed county budget:
Uvalde County Clerk’s staff salaries:
According to County Clerk Donna M. Williams, her request is to be able to pay her staff according to their duties, responsibilities and the services that they provide to the community. Many county officials start their staff at 35k or more and are able to give increases as they see fit.
According to ZipRecruiter (August 2025 data), the average annual salary for County Clerk staff in Texas is approximately $39,516, with an hourly average of $19.00/hr.
The 25th percentile is around $32,100/year, and the 75th percentile is about $41,900/year.
Out of 5 Uvalde County Clerk employees’ salaries listed on the 2025/2026 proposed budget including the county clerk’s office chief deputy at $32,864, the average salary of the 4 staff members amounts to $29.906. (salary decimal amounts not calculated in)
Uvalde County Volunteer Fire Departments
Of the County’s Volunteer Fire Departments receiving funds from the county and not part of an Emergency Services District which includes, Knippa VFD, Sabinal VFD and Reagan Wells VFD, according to the proposed budget, each department will receive less than $10K each with the City of Uvalde Volunteer Fire Department budgeted to receive $15,000.
Due to the perceived need for funds, the Uvalde County Commissioners voted to approve a petition to create an Emergency Services District (Knippa, Sabinal and Reagan Wells) taxing entity, which if approved by voters this November’s upcoming election will levy up to 10 cents per $100 value directly on property owners in Uvalde County.
