• General Fund is the main general operating fund for Travis County. The source of these funds is primarily property taxes, but also includes fines and fees, interest, intergovernmental transfers, and charges for services.
  • Debt Service Funds are funds that account for the resources used to pay our principle and interest on long-term debt.
  • Employee Health Benefit Fund is used to account for the activities of the County’s self-insured health benefits program for employees and retirees.
  • Self-Insurance Fund is used to account for the activities of the County’s self-insurance program for general, property, and automobile liabilities.
  • Special Revenue Funds are funds used to account for revenues from specific taxes or other earmarked revenue sources statutorily designated to finance particular functions or activities of government.

Travis County’s budgeting guidelines, set a basic framework for the overall fiscal management of the County. These guidelines assist the decision‐making process of the Commissioners Court. Most of the guidelines represent long‐standing principles, traditions and practices which have guided the County in the past and have helped maintain financial stability over many years.
  • Planning Before Budgeting The Commissioners Court wishes to ensure that formal planning occurs before funds are requested or allocated. Departments are encouraged to collaborate with the Commissioners Court on the development of plans for future operations. The Court wishes to have a Court approved plan before any new programs or services are considered for funding.
  • Departmental Budget Requests Should projected economic conditions show an immediate negative impact on the County’s ability to meet its financial goals and standards, then the Planning and Budget Office may ask departments to submit budgets that are less than the department’s Current Funding Level. In that event, then the departments should outline the impact on the department’s performance measures of such a reduction in resources.
  • Annualizing the Cost of New Positions and Programs When new positions or programs are added to the budget, they will be budgeted on an annual basis. This will avoid having the County’s budget automatically increase in subsequent years for such positions or programs.
  • Capital Planning The County encourages departments to submit three to five year capital plans for approval by the Commissioners Court. Approved plans shall be given priority during the annual budget process.
  • County-Wide Issues The Commissioners Court intends to fund countywide issues before committing resources for specific departmental programs. Such issues include: Legally mandated requirements; Issues that have such a substantial impact on the community that they must be accommodated first; Funding needs that affect every County department such as performance pay or other compensation needs or employee benefits; and Needs that impact the County’s fiscal strength such as reserves.
  • Mid-Year Budget Increases Departmental budget increases proposed after the beginning of the fiscal year will be considered for funding if the Commissioners Court indicated during the budget mark‐up process that the proposal was not yet fully developed and should be considered for funding from Allocated Reserves. Otherwise, such a funding proposal must meet the following criteria: It is of an emergency nature, funding cannot be identified internally, and it cannot be delayed until the next fiscal year without a very significant negative impact on the public.
  • Matching Funds to Expenditures The goal of the Commissioners Court is to have funds expended for their intended use in a timely fashion and to match the schedule of funding both operating and capital needs as closely as possible to the expected expenditure pattern, being mindful of meeting the financial goals described in these guidelines. The Court wishes to schedule the actual inflow of public tax dollars to the County in direct relationship to the outflow of projected expenditures for all funds.

Reserves are County funds that are not part of the current year’s budget but can be accessed if needed.
  • General Fund and Debt Service Reserves The goal of the Commissioners Court is to maintain an Unallocated Reserve equal to between 10% and 12% of the total budgeted expenses for the combined General Fund, Road and Bridge, and Debt Service Funds. Historically, the individual reserve ratio for the Debt Service Fund has been higher than the reserve ratio for General Fund. It is the intent of the Commissioners Court that each of these two funds will eventually have reserves that are more equalized between the two funds.
  • Capital Acquisition Resource Account The County funds purchases of capital equipment through either short‐term debt or through a Capital Acquisition Resources Account (CAR). This account is established by an annual General Fund appropriation and it is intended to reduce the County’s reliance on short‐term debt. This account provides the Commissioners Court with increased flexibility on the use of these funds as well as the timing of their availability compared to Certificates of Obligation. The Commissioners Court has set a goal of having all equipment with a unit cost of at least $100,000 or less funded out of current funds through CAR, rather than from debt issuance.
  • Allocated Reserves The Commissioners Court may also wish to establish specialized reserves when it is known that a major future expenditure will occur in one or more subsequent years, to ease the impact on the future tax rate and to reduce the likelihood of sharp changes in revenue requirements. Such specialized reserves would anticipate major improvements in technology or facilities, unusually large anticipated staffing requirements required by law or as part of an approved plan, and other investments known to be so large that they should be phased over time.
  • Unallocated Reserves The Unallocated Reserve is not intended to be used for any purpose other than a serious public calamity or other emergency during the year. It is intended to establish the County’s fiscal soundness and is a key part of the County’s bond rating. Under special circumstances, the Court may choose to adopt a reimbursement resolution that allows a temporary transfer from the Unallocated Reserve which will be reimbursed within the same fiscal year from bond or Certificate of Obligation proceeds. All permanent expenditures from this reserve will be reported in detail in the County’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

  • Adopted Budget is a budget approved by Commissioners Court for use in the County’s fiscal year of October 1 to September 30.
  • Revised budget is the Adopted Budget that includes adjustments made by the Commissioner’s Court throughout the fiscal year.