Collin County Commissioners Court Preview — August 17, 2026

Bottom Line (Ironically, at the Top)

Today marks the beginning of the 2027 Budget Workshop series, starting at 1:30 p.m. today, Monday, then 9:00 a.m. Tuesday through Friday as needed. The recommended budget is $359.7 million in the General Fund, up from $325.1 million adopted for FY 2026 (a 10.6% increase). 2,332 positions have been requested across county departments, and the recommended budget funds 2,173.5 of them. Also on the table: the county’s retirement contribution rate, elected official salaries, including the four Commissioners, one of whom I’m running to take the place of. In executive session, there’s a personnel item on the District Attorney position.

The county tax rate today is $0.149343 per $100 of value. The no-new-revenue rate (NNR) for FY 2027 is $0.147806. That’s the rate at which the county would bring in no additional tax revenue this year versus last year on properties taxed in both years. The NNR still brings in $12.5 million more than last year because of new properties built in the last year which didn’t get the opportunity to be taxed last year. Lucky them. Come attend one of my Property Tax 101 classes with Scott Grigg, our Collin County Tax Assessor-Collector to learn more.

On the regular meeting agenda today is the county’s 90th Legislative Agenda, a $789,790.08 amendment to the Outer Loop, $514,798.12 to restore and digitize more than 100 years of County Clerk records (not all under one Clerk), and a painting contract for the Juvenile Detention Center capped at $500,000 a year. Consent and disbursements total $3,238,484.24 of your money. The Court also orders the November 3 election (where I’ll be on the ballot, second candidate from the bottom—thanks for your vote!) and appoints the election judges.

Busy meeting…

Logistics

Review the full agenda here. Meetings start at 1:30 p.m. at the Jack Hatchell Administration Building, 4th Floor, 2300 Bloomdale Road, McKinney, TX 75071. You can sign up to speak at Commissioners Court meetings in person by filling out a blue card shortly before the meeting. You may alternatively share your thoughts by emailing the Commissioners Court through their contact info here. Videos of the meetings can be viewed here.

Commissioners Court Business – Regular Meeting (General Discussion Items)

1. 90th Legislative Agenda: These are to advocate for various policy positions in the legislature. Agenda or no agenda, I’ll be advocating for several things on your behalf in the next legislative session, including for water and energy resources, county zoning authority, and the elimination of property tax (again, come see my Property Tax 101 class)
2. Public Hearing — Re-plat of the Hudson Addition: Tobias and Rhonda Hudson want to split one lot into two, 2.80 acres and 8.34 acres, presumably not with a fualt line between.
3. Asset Loss Report for July 2026: The monthly tally of county property that met an unfortunate end. July: a semi-truck pulled a downed traffic signal onto a parked Sheriff’s unit ($187.75, repaired in-house, nobody to bill), and a John Deere tractor at Myers Park stalled, caught fire, and was declared a total loss shortly before it was due to be sold at auction anyway. Timing is everything. Then it burned down, fell over, and sank into the swamp.
4. Regional Transportation Council monthly update: Commissioner Hale’s report from the August 13 meeting at NCTCOG, which included a workshop on the Metropolitan Planning Organization agreement and a zero-emission vehicle funding call.

Budget Workshop Overview

You can find all budget documents on the Collin County budget page; look under FY 2027 Budget Workshop Documents.

1. FY 2027 Recommended Budget Overview: across all funds, the recommended budget totals $610.8 million, and it could reach $639.0 million if the Court approves everything staff offers. See the table below. The recommended budget is the floor, encompassing existing programs and positions, contracts the county is already on the hook for, and essentials like utilities, jail medical, etc.
   
   
2. Proposed tax rate for FY 2027: The current rate is $0.149343. The NNR (defind in the Bottom Line above) is $0.147806, the voter-approval rate (VAR) is $0.152882, and the voter-approval rate plus the unused increment is $0.156434. The debt portion is $0.041850, down slightly from last year because the required debt payment fell by $3.7 million. It’s important to understand that a lower rate can raise more money because the base grew. We’re the second fastest-growing county in America, and $7.75 billion in brand-new construction was added to the tax rolls, generating $11.45 million in new tax revenue.
3. Setting a public hearing on the proposed FY 2027 tax rate: Self-explanatory.
4. Retirement contribution rate at 10.0%: the county participates in the Texas County and District Retirement System. The required contribution rate for 2027 is 7.13%, but the county is proposing to keep paying 10.0 percent, to make sure we stay above water, unlike some local governments in Texas. This is fiscal responsibility with foresight. The plan is 100.7% funded (overfunded by $6,393,178), and Collin’s required rate is the lowest of the ten counties in the comparison set. Next lowest is Rockwall at 9.63%; Travis is at 15.46%. By comparison to cities, Plano’s required municipal retirement rate is 17.90% and Allen’s is 16.32%. By paying above the required rate year after year, we have a low required rate now. Separately, the Court decides whether to fund a retiree cost-of-living adjustment, as follows:
   • Pre-funding a 40%-of-CPI COLA for plan year 2027 is $4,667,109
   • A 1% flat rate is $4,057,356
5. Proposal of FY 2027 elected official salaries: The Court previously adopted a formula to average the 5th- and 6th-highest salaries for each position across nine comparison counties and apply whatever increase percentage the Court approves. If an official is already above that number they hold flat. At present, most are under the 5th/6th average. Two are above it, and no position got an increase last year. Of note, Collin supplements its District Judges at $18,000 while eight of the nine comparison counties supplement at $25,000.
6. FY 2027 employee performance salaries and market movement: performance raises. This is the $8.42 million “Salary Options” line from above.
7. Elected official and department head presentations, plus the Supported and Neutral request lists, the add/delete list, and the Court’s budget review. This is where officials and department heads will make the case for their requested budgets.

Executive Session

Executive session is a closed meeting authorized by Texas law for discussions involving real estate, personnel, pending litigation, or attorney-client matters. Any action taken must return to open session.

• Personnel (Texas Government Code § 551.074) — appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee.
• Personnel (§551.074): Position 00300388, District Attorney
• Personnel (§551.074): FY 2027 salaries for the County Administrator, Elections Administrator, and County Extension Agents

Notable Consent & FYI Items

Total of $3,238,484.24 of your money in proposed expenses

• Amendment No. 1, Outer Loop Segment 3A engineering, Jacobs Engineering Group: $789,790.08 — $683,568.03 for added scope and $106,222.05 for higher billing rates on a contract awarded in December 2022. The added scope is almost entirely growth: coordinating with new development that sprang up along the corridor after the contract was signed, coordinating with Denton County’s piece of the Outer Loop, and working with Celina, Grayson-Collin Electric and FEMA on a Doe Branch Creek flood model that drives the frontage road bridge design. This is what it costs to design a road through land that won’t hold still. It’s the right call — and a reminder that when we say growth pays for itself, this line item is part of what growth is buying.
• Painting Services, Maintenance and Repair: $500,000 a year, not to exceed, with JNA Painting as primary and Nouveau Construction as secondary. Bought off Plano ISD and TIPS cooperative contracts, which saves you money by using pre-competed pricing instead of running a fresh bid. First job up is Cluster 3 of the Juvenile Detention Center: 38,000 square feet of wall, 7,000 of ceiling, and 74 cell door frames.
• Preservation of Plat Files, Kofile Technologies: $335,848.76, and Preservation of Criminal and Civil Records, US Imaging: $178,949.36 ($73,352.44 for the criminal books, $105,596.92 for the civil files). County Clerk Stacey Kemp is having the county’s old plats and court books cleaned, de-acidified, repaired, digitally imaged, indexed, and sealed in archival pockets. Both went to the low quote of three, both ride cooperative contracts, and both come out of the Records Archive Fund — filing fees, not property tax. Good on the county.
• Indigent Defense Disbursements: $240,082.70 across 97 checks — court-appointed counsel for defendants who can’t afford their own, which the Constitution requires and the county pays for.
• Order and Notice of Election for November 3, 2026, and Appointment of Election Judges and Alternate Judges: The Court formally calls the November election and appoints the judges who will run every polling place through July 31, 2028. Under Election Code § 32.002 those names come from lists submitted by the two county party chairs (which I participated in as Republican Party Chair in 2024), with a formula based on the last governor’s race deciding which party gets the judge in each precinct. A quiet item that shapes how Election Day actually feels.
• Final Plat for Tivoli Phase 2: 27.83 acres, 147 residential lots, with water from North Collin SUD, sewer from an on-site plant. The Tivoli MUD still has no contracts for emergency services and is “currently working on acquiring” them. The new Emergency Services District passed last year provides funding, but not response time or contracts.
• MOU between the Adult Mental Health Court and LifePath Systems: Judge Edgeworth’s specialty court is formalizing how it shares treatment information with LifePath for participant supervision. There’s no money attached to this. Specialty courts such as this one and Judge Roach’s Veterans Treatment Court are high-value initiatives.

How to Engage

• Watch: Meetings are broadcast and archived through Collin County’s video portal at collincountytx.gov.
• Speak: Fill out a blue card at the County Clerk’s office before the 1:30 PM start. Three minutes per speaker.
• Read: The full meeting agenda with linked attachments. Separately, the Budget Workshop agenda.
• Contact: Commissioners Court members and the County Judge are listed at the County’s Commissioners Court page.

The Collin County Commissioners Court is responsible for funding the offices of every elected official in the county government. That entails hard decisions, but also responsible spending. My philosophy isn’t just “low taxation and spending” otherwise, let’s just eliminate all government spending and have anarchy. My philosophy is to spend money on the things our citizens need and want, and drive maximum value for every one of your tax dollars.

— Shelby