County Judge John Wray published an amended FY2027 budget on Aug. 14, four days after the original proposal was released. In a letter explaining the change, Wray said the FY2026 budget understated expected ad valorem tax revenue by $6,145,338. According to Wray, independent accounting firm Patillo, Brown & Hill recalculated FY2026 property tax revenue at $106,297,077, compared with the $100,151,739 figure used in the county budget. That lower number was still used in the proposed FY2027 budget released Aug. 10, producing a year-to-year increase of 12.68%. Wray now says that, using the corrected comparison, county tax revenue would increase by $6,625,635, or 6.24%, if commissioners maintain the current tax rate of $0.273992 per $100. The amendment does not represent a tax-rate cut. It primarily changes the FY2026 baseline used for comparison. Wray also said the average taxable value of an Ellis County homestead declined from $373,761 to $370,632, which would reduce the county portion of the tax bill on the average homestead by about $8.58 if the current rate is maintained. **The correction raises another question** According to Wray’s letter, the independent accounting firm completed its report on April 16. The original proposed budget released nearly four months later still contained the lower FY2026 revenue estimate. The letter does not explain why the corrected figure was not incorporated before the Aug. 10 budget was published. The explanation also uses two slightly different numbers for additional FY2027 tax revenue: $6,625,635 on the first page and $6,549,835 on the second. Wray’s broader point is that most of the growth comes from new property rather than existing taxpayers, with $5,735,996 attributed to property newly added to the tax roll. **Debate has moved beyond taxes** Before the amendment, Precinct 2 Commissioner **Matthew Zajic** said he could not see the budget surviving Commissioners Court and objected to what he called a “12% tax increase” along with growth in county bureaucracy. The corrected FY2026 figure changes the tax-revenue comparison behind that criticism. It does not address the separate debate over the size and structure of county government. The original proposal increases authorized county staffing from 707 to 744 positions and creates a three-position County Administrator department and a separate Budget Office with at least two positions. The two new departments carry roughly $1.05 million in proposed spending combined. **Kameron Raburn**, who won the Republican primary for County Judge, has also come out strongly against the budget in its current form. His objections focus on the new administrative structure and what he describes as plans to relocate Commissioners Court and other county functions away from the historic courthouse. The Ellis County GOP also held a special meeting Saturday evening to discuss the proposed budget and its tax implications, another sign that the proposal has become a broader political issue. Commissioners Court is scheduled to take up the budget discussion **Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 2 p.m.** The amendment changes one of the biggest numbers driving the controversy. It does not appear to have ended the controversy itself.