County commissioners approve 2021 tax rate, 2022 budget
By Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan
Following a Public Hearing on Monday, Sept. 13, Stephens County Commissioners voted to approve the proposed 2022 Fiscal Year Budget and the 2021 Tax Rate for the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget for Stephens County. There were no members of the public that signed up to address commissioners during the Public Hearing.
Approved tax rate
The tax rate approved by commissioners is $0.80 per $100 property valuation. The rate is the same as last year’s rate, but because of increased property values in the county, it is higher than the “no-new-revenue tax rate,” which is $0.7367 per $100. The no-new-revenue tax rate is the tax rate for the 2021 tax year that will raise the same amount of property tax revenue for Stephens County from the same properties in both the 2020 tax year and the 2021 tax year.
The County officials estimate that the tax rate will increase property taxes on the average homestead by $84.64, based on the average value of $83,812. The amount of taxes owed by each homeowner will depend on their property’s appraised value. Additionally, homeowners also pay property taxes to the school district, hospital district and city (for those living inside the city limits).
Approved new sign for airport
During their regular meeting following the Public Hearing, commissioners voted to approve the construction of a sign marking the turn off for the Stephens County Airport to be located on Highway 183. County Judge Michael Roach told commissioners they were going to replace the current small green sign that is currently at that location. He said the new sign will be 6-by-8-feet and will include LED lighting. The cost of the sign will be a little over $3,000, he said, and the money used to pay for the sign will come from funds received from the American Rescue Plan.
Sale and removal of building at airport
Commissioners also voted to approve advertising to accept sealed bids for the sale and removal of a building at the Stephens County Airport that was used for pumps. Commissioner Mark McCullough said that in the future they want build another building there to store their equipment. Commissioners voted on an amended motion that stipulated the minimum bid they will accept for the building was $2,000.The motion also stipulation that whoever had the winning bid to purchase the building will have it moved within two weeks of their bid being accepted by Commissioners.
Other Business
In other business, commissioners voted approve a request by Playground a Series of Reola, LLC to cross County Road 190 West of FM 1853 to install a waterline. They also voted to leave the fees charged by the Sheriff and Constable offices at the same rate in 2022 as they are in 2021. Roach said he believes the fees the county is currently charging are the maximum allowed by the Texas Legislature.
They also approved proposal from Southwest Data Solutions to upgrade the Stephens County Tax Office computer server. Stephens County Tax Assessor Christie Latham said the current server, which stores all the county’s property tax record information, is outdated and uses Windows 8, which is no longer supported by Windows.
Commissioners took no action on the county-wide burn ban for Stephens County and left the ban in place.
Cutline, top photo: Stephens County Commissioners Court meet in the District Courtroom on Monday, Sept. 13. Following a public hearing, they approved the 2021 Tax Rate for the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget for Stephens County. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
