Today, Fort Bend County Commissioners Court unanimously approved the County’s budget for the 2023 fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2022. The approved budget is a historic budget for Fort Bend that prioritizes public safety and community resources for the diverse residents of Fort Bend County.

The County Operating Budget will be $489,035,596 and Drainage at $10,828,608 for a total of $499,864,204. This is a total increase of 11.1% with the majority of that increase focused on public safety, community resources, and ensuring prior bond service payments.

Fort Bend County Judge KP George and County Commissioners Vincent Morales (Pct.1), Grady Prestage (Pct. 2), Andy Meyers (Pct. 3), and Ken DeMerchant (Pct. 4) voted 5-0 for the budget and the property tax rate. Fort Bend County Judge KP George and the County Commissioners have brought down the County Property Tax rate from $0.464/$100 in 2018 to the current total rate of $0.4383/$100.

Recently, Commissioners Court unanimously commissioned a comprehensive classification and compensation study from the Segal Group to determine if Fort Bend County employee pay is market competitive and if there is an internally equitable compensation system to attract, retain and compensate its employees.

As a result of the study, County employees in specific job grades and departments including those in Public Safety fields will be given no less than a 4% pay equity increase starting in October.

“I always say the best part of Fort Bend County are the people. While we have work to do, I am proud we finished this comprehensive study within a year to support the hard-working staff of the County including our First Responders and Public Safety staff,” stated County Judge KP George. “The people who work for the county love serving our community, and I keep advocating to support them in every way.”

You can find a full copy of the approved budget (when posted) on the Fort Bend County Budget Office website.