By Edmond Ortiz
Bexar County’s newly passed budget includes funding to support 22 new sheriff’s patrol positions, and the launch of a next-generation flood warning system.
County commissioners unanimously voted on Sept. 9 to approve a total $2.81 billion budget for fiscal year 2026, which began Oct. 1.
The county’s 2025-2026 budget will be funded by a property tax rate of 29.9 per $100 valuation – a rate that Commissioners Court decided will not change from the current fiscal year.
What you should know
In preparing a new budget, Bexar County is setting aside $1.3 million to support the creation of 22 patrol positions, bringing the total number of sheriff’s office patrol spots to 102 over the last three years. The FY 2026 budget also contains $370,000 to enhance the sheriff’s missing persons unit, $187,000 to bolster DWI enforcement, and $340,000 to support the department’s training division.
The budget allocates $21 million to kick off a NextGen Flood Warning System and Resilient Infrastructure Program in partnership with the San Antonio River Authority. In his budget summary, County Manager David Smith, the initiative will mix predictive modeling of every Bexar County creek and waterway and real-time data from rainfall and water level sensors to allow SARA’s meteorologists to better predict low-water crossing flooding.
Smith said aside from established and ongoing flood mitigation systems and projects, this new next-generation program is a response to the fatal flash-flooding events that took place in June in San Antonio, and in July in the Hill Country. The new Bexar County program will involve fixing broken gauges, installing real-time sensors and automated flood barriers, enhanced alerts, and public outreach, the latter of which will include community education programs beginning in 2026.
Also of note
The new budget contains $8 million for county road projects, including $3 million to extend Marbach Road westward, and $9 million to build a garage for staff working at Fox Tech High School, a measure that is part of a long-range collaboration among the county, city of San Antonio and San Antonio ISD to develop a new San Antonio Missions stadium in the area.
Additionally, the new budget has a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for non-uninformed county employees, and a slight boost for employees’ prescription drug copayments. The total FY 2026 budget includes a $995 million general fund budget – a rise from the $901 million that went to daily county operations in FY 2025.
What they’re saying
Smith said after years of growth in property tax values across Bexar County, the local certified property tax roll rose by just 2.3% in 2025 – a drop that Smith partially attributed to property tax protests.
Still, Smith said the new budget is more than adequate to serve a growing county where the population sits at 2.14 million. He added that lower growth on existing property values should give county property taxpayers some relief.
Pct. 3 Commissioner Grant Moody, the court’s lone conservative, said he was pleased by the investments made in public safety, and the move to maintain the same property tax rate. He also applauded county officials on their efforts to craft a restrained budget.
But Moody was disappointed that some “nice to have” spending items made it into the final budget. He also warned against the court delaying tough fiscal decisions, such as spending remaining obligated American Rescue Plan Act funds by a federal deadline of Dec. 31, 2026.
“It’s not the budget that I would’ve written, but between the investments in public safety, the tax cut and the flat top line, it’s a budget that I’m inclined to support,” Moody said.
Pct. 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores said she was heartened by the county budget containing $1 million in contingency funds for local non-profit agencies that are threatened by federal funding cuts.
“We at the county level and the local level are going to step up for that,” Clay-Flores added.
County Judge Peter Sakai acknowledged that Bexar County faces a fiscal cliff later this decade, but with that in mind, he commended county staff for applying a back-to-basics approach toward developing the budget.
“I believe the county has moved forward in a strategic way in regards to the economic necessities and realities that we face,” he added.
