Co. Tax Rate to Stay Flat
Fayette County Commissioners Court voted 4-0 last Thursday to propose the same property tax rate as last year, $0.464 per $100 value of taxable property. Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom was absent from the meeting.
That tax rate will bring the County slightly more revenue than last year due to increasing property values around the County. According to the Fayette County Appraisal District, average home values went from $179,488 in 2019 to $185,150 in 2020. County Judge Joe Weber said the average taxpayer will see a slight increase on their tax bill.
“That’s growth, and we don’t have much to say or do about what people are buying homes for around here,” Weber said.
Commissioners could have lowered the tax rate to $0.4577 while generating the same amount of revenue as last year. That rate was previously known as the effective rate. Texas Senate Bill 2, which became law last year, changed the name of the effective rate to the “no-new-revenue” rate. The new law also capped the voter approval rate, previously known as the rollback rate, at three percent above the previous year’s tax rate. For Fayette County, the voter approval rate is $0.477 per hundred. Commissioners would have to call a special election and get voter approval if they propose a rate above that number.
“I don’t want to propose a tax rate increase right now,” Weber said. “We do not need it.”
The County will hold a public hearing on the tax rate at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 19, inside the district courtroom. Commissioners will vote to adopt the tax rate after the hearing. By setting the hearing time at 6 p.m., Commissioners delivered on a promise they made at a tax rate hearing last year. Weber and the Commissioners faced a heated crowd of citizens last year when they proposed a tax increase. Several citizens criticized the meeting time, which took place at 9 a.m. on a weekday while most people were at work. Commissioners could not reset the hearing last year due to time constraints and posting requirements stipulated in state law. However, Weber promised the crowd that future tax rate hearings would take place in the evening when more people could participate.
Once the rate is adopted, Commissioners will schedule a meeting to adopt the proposed 2021 Fayette County Budget. The proposed budget is available for public viewing at the Fayette County Clerk’s Office and online at https://www.co.fayette. tx.us/page/fayette.Budgets.