Download & Print
Photo by Jessica Nohealapa’ahi
July 22, 2025
County commissioners discuss block grants during budget workshop
By Jessica Nohealapa’ahi
The Bandera Prophet
In preparation for the 2025-26 fiscal year, Bandera County commissioners tentatively approved block grants and other expenditures, subject to the vote and adoption of the final budget.
Among the grants, which are funded by property tax income, the Bandera County Boys & Girls Club was approved for $10,000; Hill Country CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) was approved for $2,000; Christian Journey Courses was approved for $12,000; Hill Country Crisis Council was approved for $2,500; Kids Advocacy Place was approved for $1,000; K’STAR Youth & Family Services was approved for $7,000; the San Antonio Food Bank was approved for $13,000; the Bandera County Soil & Water Conservation District was approved for $2,000; the Bandera, Lakehills and Medina libraries were approved for $94,000 each; and the Silver Sage Hill Country Resource Center was approved for $75,000.
Silver Sage Executive Director Art Crawford said the center’s net loss in 2024 was $310,000, due to funding cuts at the state level. He said instead of reducing deliveries for the Meals on Wheels program, the Silver Sage absorbed the expense to continue feeding close to 900 people from Lakehills to Vanderpool and Utopia, “and everywhere in between.”
Crawford said 100 percent of local funding goes toward nutrition and Meals on Wheels, which breaks down to $83 per person for the year.
“It looks like federal funding will go down with the new bill that just passed. It looks like more cuts,” Crawford said.
Commissioners also tentatively approved an adjusted 2.0 percent COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for retirees, .2 percent lower than originally approved because only whole numbers are accepted by the Texas County & District Retirement System.
“We’re going to have to make some hard decisions on the budget, I can tell that already. It’s not going to get any easier,” Bandera County Judge Richard Evans said. “The legislature didn’t do us any favors, as usual.”
Commissioners will hold another budget workshop during their regular session on Thursday, July 24, beginning at 10 a.m., at the county courthouse.
Among the grants, which are funded by property tax income, the Bandera County Boys & Girls Club was approved for $10,000; Hill Country CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) was approved for $2,000; Christian Journey Courses was approved for $12,000; Hill Country Crisis Council was approved for $2,500; Kids Advocacy Place was approved for $1,000; K’STAR Youth & Family Services was approved for $7,000; the San Antonio Food Bank was approved for $13,000; the Bandera County Soil & Water Conservation District was approved for $2,000; the Bandera, Lakehills and Medina libraries were approved for $94,000 each; and the Silver Sage Hill Country Resource Center was approved for $75,000.
Silver Sage Executive Director Art Crawford said the center’s net loss in 2024 was $310,000, due to funding cuts at the state level. He said instead of reducing deliveries for the Meals on Wheels program, the Silver Sage absorbed the expense to continue feeding close to 900 people from Lakehills to Vanderpool and Utopia, “and everywhere in between.”
Crawford said 100 percent of local funding goes toward nutrition and Meals on Wheels, which breaks down to $83 per person for the year.
“It looks like federal funding will go down with the new bill that just passed. It looks like more cuts,” Crawford said.
Commissioners also tentatively approved an adjusted 2.0 percent COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for retirees, .2 percent lower than originally approved because only whole numbers are accepted by the Texas County & District Retirement System.
“We’re going to have to make some hard decisions on the budget, I can tell that already. It’s not going to get any easier,” Bandera County Judge Richard Evans said. “The legislature didn’t do us any favors, as usual.”
Commissioners will hold another budget workshop during their regular session on Thursday, July 24, beginning at 10 a.m., at the county courthouse.