After the most difficult budget year in decades, the Wichita County commissioners said they want to do things differently in 2018-19.

Wichita County Judge Woody Gossom said deep financial cuts and eliminating staff positions made the 2017-18 budget the most challenging in his 29 years at the county.

During that period, the county began the first step in a multi-year plan to rein in spending. The commissioners court aimed to cut $1.5 million from the budget, along with several staff positions.

This year, Gossom said they do not plan on cutting any positions and, while there will be budget cuts, they may not be as drastic as 2017-18.

Several county employees attending Monday's meeting protested a suggestion by Commissioner Jeff Watts to make a change to the leave policy.

Instead of having separate sick time and vacation time, he said many companies are moving to paid time off (PTO).

Watts said the county is wasting a great deal of time and money auditing time sheets for exiting employees.

He suggested a PTO limit of 120 hours a year with no rollover to the next year for unused time.

The idea spurred heated discussion from sheriff’s office employees and Justice of the Peace Janice Sons.

Sons said, with all the budget cuts recently, it felt like the court did not value employees.

“Am I wrong?” she asked other department heads.

District Clerk Patti Flores, District Attorney's Civil Civil Meredith Kennedy, Sheriff’s Office Manager Jill Gann and other WCSO staff said they agreed with Sons.

With a tax limit set by the state looming ahead, commissioners say they are trying to cut spending where they can.

“Why did we all of the sudden hit this brick wall?” Gann asked the court of the seemingly drastic budget cuts last year.

“That wasn’t a wall," Commissioner Barry Mahler said. “That was a soft landing. What you don’t understand is how serious this is. This is the getting-there stage. It’s happening. What happened last year – there’s more of it.”

A letter was sent out recently asking county department heads to detail what they would like in the coming year’s budget.

In the past, the court assigned budget planning sessions with the whole court, but often talks ran past the assigned time periods.

This year, Gossom said he wants to add some meetings with one or two commissioners and department heads.

The smaller meetings, Gossom hopes, will allow them to better manage the formal budget sessions with the court.

Since there hasn't been much economic change in the area, Gossom said they will likely work with off a budget, which depends on taxes coming into the coffers, similar to last year.

Planning a budget is like “looking into a crystal ball,” he said, and trying to predict what the economy is going to do.

Prices for health insurance change each year, based on claims from the previous year.

Gossom said they will be getting figures from their carrier, the Texas Association of Counties, later this month.

The county considered changing insurance carriers last year, but ultimately stayed with TAC under a different plan.

Texas sets a tax-rate cap of 80 cents per $100 property value and the county rate is now around 67 cents.

Through inflation alone –about 1 to 2 percent annually – the county is likely to hit that tax ceiling in a few short years.

With about 60 to 70 percent of the county budget set in stone through state mandates, there’s only a little bit left to carve on, Commissioner Mark Beauchamp said.

Gossom said while they are going to be trimming the budget, as always, he said they are looking to include a raise for employees.

A change to the tax rate is still an unknown, the judge said.

Figures from the auditor are set to be reviewed by May, then the court will decide if they will amend the tax rate.

Gossom said he hopes to have a final budget approved in July.