COLDSPRING — Budget discussions led the San Jacinto County Commissioners Court to push the tax rate for Road and Bridge departments to the maximum, while setting an overall tax rate lower than the current fiscal year.
At a special public hearing/meeting on Sept. 2, the court passed a tax rate of 0.48291 per $100 property valuation, down from the 0.50776 rate for the current year.
Even with the decrease, however, the county will generate an additional $756,582 or 4.47 percent, $364,046 of which will be money raised from new property added to the tax roll. The impact to the average property owner will be an additional $31.65 on the annual tax bill.
During the discussion, Commissioner Mark Nettuno suggested either taking money out of general fund balance or bumping up the rate to put more money into the Road & Bridge departments. County Judge Fritz Faulkner voiced his opposition to raiding the fund balance, saying that the Legislature has provided tax rates for counties to build and repair roads, and taking funds from the general fund for R&B has never been done.
Faulkner also suggested general obligation bonds, which don’t require voter approval, to generate additional funds. He also said that raising the tax rate for roads to the max of .15 would mean that the rate for the general fund would have to drop.
Commissioner Donnie Marrs said the commission can’t maintain what they have, and pointed out that the price of materials has increased drastically.
In the end, Faulkner adjusted the general fund tax rate down to accommodate the change in the Road and Bridge rate so as not to create a deficit budget. The final rates are:
Items proposed in the new budget another employee for the tax office to make it easier for people to pay their taxes, and hiring two people for the animal control center in administrative positions, with the sheriff stepping away from running the facility.
It also includes a $1,000 per year raise for full-time employees across the board.
In other business, commissioners:
