Email from Tarrant County Keeping you informed . . . Dear Friends, Here are some key highlights from the Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday, August 4th and the Commissioners Court Budget Hearing on Thursday, August 13th. Read The Full August 4th Agenda Here Read The Full August 13th Agenda Here   Honoring Texas History Example of the Hood County Monument to the Alamo Letter A majority of the Court accepted donations for the purchase and installation of a Monument to the Alamo Letter to display on the lawn of the 1895 Courthouse. The large bronze plaque will display Col. William Barret Travis’s Alamo “Victory or Death” letter and will honor the two leading Tejanos of the Texas Revolution, Jose Antonio Navarro and Juan Seguin.   Application for Huge Public Safety Grant The Commissioners Court approved submitting an application to the U.S. Department of Justice for $150 million. The funding would be used to hire and retain personnel, improve equipment and technology, expand training and professional development, upgrade facilities, strengthen mental health and substance use services, support reentry and transitional programs, reduce recidivism, enhance services for victims, and expand youth crime prevention and intervention programs. Public safety will always be a priority.   Voting Location Clarification To clarify some of the misleading narrative after the Commissioners Court meeting about November voting locations, please watch the interview below. I am 100% confident that every Tarrant County voter will have a safe, secure, and accessible place to vote in November. Watch Full Interview Here   Fourth Year of Tax Relief for Tarrant County Taxpayers Please read the statement below for more information about Tarrant County continuing to provide tax relief and moving forward with a balanced budget: Tarrant County Judge O'Hare Delivers Fourth Straight Tax Cut for Tarrant County with Law Enforcement and County Employee Raises in County Budget; Backs Governor Abbott's Property Tax Reform Plan FORT WORTH- Today, County Judge Tim O’Hare gave preliminary approval for a new budget for next year, cutting the county tax rate below the no-new revenue rate for the fourth consecutive year while fully funding public safety and raising pay for county employees and law enforcement. Within this press release is a statement from Judge O’Hare and details on what was included in this year’s budget. Statement from County Judge Tim O'Hare: "Four years ago, we made a promise to the taxpayers of Tarrant County that we would stop treating their money as ours to spend. This budget is the fourth consecutive year we have kept that promise. We did it responsibly while maintaining essential services. Public safety is fully funded. Our law enforcement officers are getting a raise. Every county employee is eligible for a merit pay increase for the fourth consecutive year. We put serious money into mental health because the alternative is paying for it later in our jails and our emergency rooms. And at JPS Hospital, not one patient sees less support than they did last year. Anyone who tells you that cutting taxes means gutting services has not looked at what we just did. We proved the opposite. You cut waste, you set priorities, and you fund the things that government actually exists to do. However, there is a limit to what a county can do alone. County taxes are one line on a homeowner's bill, and it is not the biggest one. That is why I am proud to stand with Governor Greg Abbott and support his Property Tax Reform Plan. Capping appraisal growth and delivering appraisal predictability for homeowners would deliver the kind of lasting relief no single county can deliver by itself. Tarrant County has shown it can be done. I look forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature to deliver that same relief to every homeowner in Texas." Topline Facts on Budget: Puts the Tarrant County tax rate at $0.1860 and the JPS Hospital rate at $0.1590. Both rates are below the No-New-Revenue Rate for the fourth straight year Continues the maximum homestead exemption allowed by law for both Tarrant County and JPS, for the third straight year Over the last 4 years, the property tax rate for the county is down 17%, and the JPS rate is down 29.2% Fully funds public safety Raises law enforcement pay 4%, confinement pay 2.5%, and continues the existing step plan, totaling a 25% law enforcement raise and 14.5% confinement raise over four years Provides a 3% merit increase for all non-law-enforcement county employees Directs considerable funding to mental health Funds reserves at 15%, which complies with the Tarrant County Reserves Policy Maintains JPS support for patients with no decrease Tarrant County stands apart for keeping our tax rate lower than other large Texas counties and continuing to lower the county rate.   The next Commissioners Court meeting will be on September 1, 2026 at 10:00 am at 100 E. Weatherford, Fort Worth, Texas 76196. You can livestream every Commissioners Court Meeting on Tarrant County's YouTube page. Should you have any questions about these items or anything else my office can help with, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are here to serve Tarrant County. With gratitude, Tarrant County | 100 E. Weatherford Street, Suite 501 | Fort Worth, TX 76196-0101 US County Judge Office Phone Number: (817) 884-1441 Unsubscribe | Constant Contact Data Notice