Collin County's fire marshal asked commissioners yesterday to impose a 90-day outdoor burn ban on all unincorporated land in the county, citing a drought index that has reached 611 on the 800-point Keetch-Byram scale and is climbing roughly eight points a day with no rain in the forecast.
The ban would cover unincorporated areas outside city limits. Allen proper is exempt. But pockets of unincorporated land adjacent to Allen neighborhoods would be affected. Violating a county burn ban is a Class C misdemeanor under Texas Local Government Code Section 352.081.
Collin County last imposed a comparable ban in July 2022, when dry conditions prompted a 90-day order that ran through Oct. 9, 2022.
The burn ban was one of several items on the Commissioners Court's Aug. 24 agenda. Total consent-agenda spending proposed at the meeting was $3.17 million, including $162,646 to replace a 12-ton computer-room air conditioning unit at the Collin County Courthouse and up to $150,000 for firearms, conducted electrical weapons and accessories shared among the Sheriff's Office, constables and district courts.
Commissioners also considered a no-cost agreement with Tyler Technologies to add electronic warrant exchanges to the county's existing CloudGavel system, eliminating manual re-entry of served search warrants and pre-file arrest warrants between two systems in the same building.
FY2027 budget moves toward Sept. 14 vote
The meeting came as the county's $359.7 million recommended General Fund budget for fiscal year 2027 advances toward adoption.
That figure is up $34.6 million, or about 10.6%, from the $325.1 million adopted for FY2026. If commissioners fund every item on the supported and neutral request lists, spending could reach $384.7 million.
Holding the property tax rate flat would still generate $4.17 million more than the no-new-revenue rate because the county's tax base has grown.
One budget decision already drawing public attention: the Commissioners Court voted during the FY2027 budget workshop to eliminate the Sheriff's Office public affairs sergeant position held by Sgt. Jessica Pond, effective Oct. 1.
Sheriff Jim Skinner responded by canceling Citizens Academy Class 30, which had been scheduled to run August through November.
In a statement posted to the county website on Aug. 24, Skinner called the cut deeply disappointing and said he hopes the program can be restored in the future.
How to weigh in
Public hearings on both the proposed FY2027 budget and the tax rate are scheduled for Monday, Sept. 14, the same day the Court is expected to adopt both. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Residents who want to speak fill out a blue card before the 1:30 p.m. start and receive three minutes. Meeting videos are posted at collincountytx.gov.
