After weeks of discussions and changes, the Lubbock County commissioners approved the final budget for the 2019 fiscal year on Monday. Some of the biggest changes include the new tax rate, which is one cent lower and could save people a considerable amount of money in the long run.
“We work hard on this every year,” said Bill McCay, county commissioner for Precinct One. “Once it’s done for one year, we get right to work for the next one.”
However, with any budget change, money must be moved around. On Monday, some were not so thrilled about how money was allocated, and had their chance to speak to the county commissioners about it.
“Just by taking a quick glance, I saw some big swings from either zero to a whole lot, and it’s concerning,” said Mikel Ward, who spoke out at the commissioners’ Monday meeting.
Ward is referring to some of the bigger changes found in the budget like the substantial increase in Information and Technology. For the past several years, no money has been placed into this category, but this fiscal year sees an increase of nearly $5.4 million.
Ward says she is afraid the commissioners are trying to break their contract with Kicorp, a software company that works closely with the county. She believes the money allocated to this category would act as bail-out money for breaking the contract, which is set to last until next year.
“I just want some reassurance that something like that isn’t going to happen,” said Ward. “Getting out of that contract would be very expensive, and we don’t want to pay that bill.”
However, the commissioners have denied this allegation, saying the money is going to software updates, and whatever is not used will go back to the general fund.
“At this point, we are not breaking our contract with Kicorp,” said McCay. “We are just trying to give the best software as possible to those who need it.”
Another contentious issue is the funding for the sheriff’s office.
“Our sheriff’s operating budget is roughly the same as it was this current year, and so it’s a process, and sometimes it can get political, but nonetheless we did what we were supposed to do, and the needs of the community were met,” said McCay.
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