• David Tewes •
• Originally published July 30, 2008 at 12:04 a.m., updated July 30, 2008 at 12:04 a.m.

A plea from Victoria County’s sheriff in June for help fighting increasing crime and rising fuel costs hasn’t fallen on deaf ears.

County Judge Don Pozzi said most of what Sheriff T. Michael O’Connor sought is in the proposed budget being worked out by the commissioners court.

That includes seven new vehicles O’Connor said are needed to replace his aging and sometimes unreliable and high mileage fleet. The sheriff had also asked for 16 additional employees, including eight patrol officers.

“At this present time, there are six employees in the budget, which includes four in patrol,” Pozzi said. “But that doesn’t mean it can’t go higher or lower.”

The commissioners court is scheduled to meet with O’Connor Friday to further discuss his budget.

The commissioners court began Monday hammering out its proposed budget for 2009. And the news wasn’t good.

The proposed budget is starting out with a $2.3 million deficit, which Pozzi said compares to deficits in previous years in the $1 million to $1.5 million range.

County Auditor Judy McAdams said the county still hadn’t received information from the appraisal district needed to begin figuring the proposed property tax rate.

That information was expected late Monday and then officials would need time to figure the tax rate, she said.

The county’s tax rate is 39.86 cents for each $100 of taxable property value. Pozzi said it has been at that level for five years.

“It’s certainly not my intention to change the tax rate,” Pozzi said.

McAdams said she still doesn’t have everything she needs to calculate the amount of the total budget.

But the proposed general fund budget, which gets most of its income from the property and sales tax, is $33.26 million. That’s up from the actual budget of $30.85 million on Jan. 1, which is the start of the county’s budget year.

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