Fannin County, Texas -- There was a somber mood when Fannin County Commissioners Court met June 2, 2026 to discuss the budget for the next fiscal year.

A recent FCC ruling that counties cannot profit from the phone commission at the jail will knock approximately $550,000 out of the general fund budget revenue.

Abatements kick in for Engie and Coniglio, two entities that paid taxes last year.

At the same time, while some county departments saw this budget problem coming and submitted very frugal requests, the county departments as a whole have turned in a budget wish list that, if approved, would put the county almost $4 million in the hole.

And Fannin County Judge Newt Cunningham seems determined to hire a road engineer and transition from  the county's current precinct system to unitization, a concept that would add another high-paying administrative position and could incur significant costs for the first couple of years in order to centralize Road & Bridge Departments.

It would seem obvious that when money is tight, departments will have to scale back their wish list.

And it doesn't seem logical to have a lame-duck county judge who was voted out of office lead a push for a dramatic change in the way the county operates.

Perhaps if neither side gets what they want, taxpayers can get what they need -- a no-frills, balanced budget.

Wouldn't the prudent approach be to allow the incoming county judge to have time to confer with his constituents and carefully consider the best way for a rural county to maintain roads?

Then, if unitization is to be placed in front of taxpayers, perhaps unitization would be a better fit on the ballot in 2028 for the next presidential election because a higher percentage of voters will go to the polls for that election.

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Fannin County Commissioners Court had one single agenda item to legally discuss at a special meeting of commissioners court on Tuesday, June 2, 2026

3. Discussion and possible action regarding 2026-2027 fiscal year budget requests, salaries, and revenue.

The agenda item was submitted by Judge Cunningham, who told the commissioners that he would soon present them with budget proposals that he and county staff are preparing.

"I want you to be aware of where we find ourselves and I want our citizens to be aware of where we find ourselves," Cunningham began. "We have probably less money than we did last year. Now that makes life very difficult when people are asking for a 30-something percent increase across the board. Of course, we can't do that unless we raise taxes. I am dead set against raising taxes."

The current Fannin County tax rate is $0.350311 per $100 of property value.

In Texas, counties are limited to a maximum increase of 3.5% more than the previous year's operating costs.

If the county chooses to go over the voter approved rate (VAR), it would be placed on the ballot in November where it would almost certainly be vetoed by voters.

Cunningham asked everyone to take a hard look at possible cuts to the budget and explained that he has asked the auditor's office to prepare two different budgets: one budget would be with a road engineer factored in, and one budget would be without a road engineer.

Fannin County Auditor Alicia Whipple advised the court that, if all current budget requests are included, the county would likely find itself $3.8 million in the red.

Fannin County Clerk Jenny Garner asked if department heads and county staff could have an opportunity to look at the entire budget and offer suggestions?

"I don't have any problem with people looking at the entire budget," Cunningham replied.

Whipple said that her office would need to get all the numbers plugged in before the budget would be ready to scrutinize.

"When the county judge submits the proposed budget, that is when department heads can discuss it with the judge," Whipple explained.

Cunningham said he would submit his budget after he discusses it with judge-elect, John Tynan.

After members of the court bickered about countywide raises last year, Cunningham stated, "There are people in this county who are underpaid, and people in this county that are way overpaid, in my opinion."

When the subject of Cunningham's two secretaries came up, he noted that 10 years ago commissioners shared one secretary and now there are four secretaries.

"Grayson County has one [secretary] for all of the commissioners -- that's my understanding," Cunningham remarked.

"I do want to remind you that the tax rate will probably go up because of those two abated properties," Whipple advised the court. "They paid property tax last year."

The court was divided over the subject of abatements, with Cunningham apparently opposing all abatements, while commissioners seemed willing to consider exceptions for companies bringing dozens of high-paying jobs.

"If we open the door, we may not be able to tell who gets to come in and who doesn't," cautioned Cunningham.