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Smith County, Texas

First Issues Docket

Every dead end in the money trail becomes a numbered pursuit here. When a document is obtained and ingested, the issue gets stamped with the date and what it revealed. 1 of 12 complete.
#1
The adopted FY27 budget book.

The Commissioners Court adopted the FY27 budget on Sept 15, 2026, but the county’s Adopted Budgets page still posts the book titled “Proposed,” with every vote shown as “Pending.” Its totals match news reports of the adopted budget to the dollar. Next step: ask the Budget Office or Auditor for the final adopted book with the recorded vote.

Open
#2
The debt schedule’s own arithmetic.

The budget states $221,005,000 of debt outstanding as of Oct 1, 2026 — on the cover, page 18, and page 30. Adding up each bond series’ printed subtotals on pages 27–30 gave only about $211 million.

2026-09 — what this revealed: The $221,005,000 total is right. Every yearly payment row on pages 27–30 adds up to exactly $221,005,000 of principal, plus $125,301,169 of interest still to pay. The error is in the printed subtotal under each bond series: it leaves out that bond’s first-year (2026–27) payment. For example, the courthouse bonds’ subtotal reads $145,355,000; their rows add to $149,050,000. The 2020 bonds’ interest subtotal also skips a row. The county’s total, and the payments, are correct.
✓ Complete
#3
The Tyler half-cent sales tax: where it goes.

Tyler voters approved a half-cent sales tax in 1995, run by the Tyler One-Half Cent Sales Tax Corporation. A full, dollar-by-dollar list of the projects it has paid for was not found yet. That means not found, not hidden. Next step: request the corporation’s annual reports and project ledger.

Open
#4
Economic development taxes in Lindale, Bullard, and Whitehouse.

The Texas Comptroller lists a half-cent Type A tax in Lindale (since 1994) and a half-cent Type B tax in Bullard (since 2007). Whitehouse runs a Type B development corporation. Award lists and yearly totals for each were not found yet.

Open
#5
The FY2025 audit report.

The newest county audit report found is for the year ended Sept 30, 2024, and the only copy found is on a commissioner’s website. The FY2025 report should be due. Next step: get both from the county Auditor’s office.

Open
#6
Tyler Junior College’s current tax rate.

TJC levies its own property tax across its district. Its current rate could not be confirmed from a primary source yet, so it is left out of any “total tax bill” example.

Open
#7
An open check register.

No county-run check register or open spending portal was found. Some Texas counties post every payment as downloadable data. Next step: ask whether Smith County publishes its payments anywhere.

Open
#8
Tyler’s PFAS test results.

Tyler’s 2025 water-quality report doesn’t list “forever chemical” (PFAS) results. Next step: EPA’s national sampling data (UCMR 5) or ask Tyler Water Utilities.

Open
#9
What Tyler’s 2.08 billion lost gallons mean.

Tyler reported losing an estimated 2,084,630,147 gallons in 2025. What share of production that is, what it cost to pump and treat, and the plan to cut it.

Open
#10
The cost of the sewer consent decree.

EPA estimated the 2017 sewer fixes could cost more than $65 million. How much has been spent, how it’s been paid for, and what’s left.

Open
#11
Programs inside the Smith County Jail.

What education, trade, recovery, or reentry programs run inside the jail beyond the garden, and how many people take part.

Open
#12
What the jail overflow contracts cost.

The county pays other counties to house inmates beyond its capacity: how many, at what daily rate, and the yearly total.

Open