On June 9, the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) sent the 2020 Unfunded Mandates Survey to county auditors and, in those counties that do not have auditors, to county treasurers. The survey asks about county expenditures from unfunded and underfunded mandates.
Providing information on these expenditures, including how quickly they are growing, will help legislators understand the impact of shifting those costs onto counties.
The 2021 legislative session, in particular, will be of critical importance to counties. The COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters have already greatly affected counties this year, and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an active hurricane season that could further impact counties.
Therefore, in collaboration with the Texas Association of County Auditors, the County Treasurers' Association of Texas, the Texas Conference of Urban Counties and the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas, TAC is conducting the survey to determine the costs of certain state and federal mandates.
To be mindful of the challenges and time constraint counties face, this year’s survey has fewer questions, and they are developed to collect complete expenditure information.
Unfortunately, some counties may not be able to answer every question. However, TAC asks that they respond as best as possible, given the variations in how expenditures are tracked by each county.
Please complete the survey by Nov. 5.
County auditors and treasurers who did not receive an email about the survey should check their email spam filter or, in Microsoft Outlook, their Clutter folder. The email was sent by the Texas Association of Counties from SurveyGizmo (invites@mailer.surveygizmo.com).
Results from the 2018 survey can be found on the TAC website. Email Tim Brown with questions about the survey. A copy of the survey form is available online; however, please use the link in your emailed survey invitation to submit responses.