Last year, Brazos County commissioners did not get a fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget and property tax rate set until October 20th. That was due to the objection of two commissioners.
This year, the FY 24 budget and property tax rate were approved Tuesday (September 19). Both were adopted over the objection of one commissioner and multiple speakers during public hearings that preceded the commission votes.
All 11 people who spoke during the tax rate public hearing were opposed to the county’s FY 24 property tax rate. Most wanted to continue the no new revenue rate that was set last year.
The FY 23 property tax rate was .429411 cents per $100 dollars of valuation. The original proposed FY 24 property tax rate was .424700 cents. Commissioners voted 4-1 to set the FY 24 rate at .409700 cents.
Commissioner Steve Aldrich motion to adopt the no new revenue rate of .376088 cents died for the lack of a second. Last year, the county had a no new revenue rate after Aldrich and former commissioner Russ Ford skipped meetings, taking advantage of a state law that required four of the five commissioners to vote on the tax rate.
Aldrich voted against the FY 24 budget and the tax rate, saying the additional $11,566,727 in property tax revenue could have been covered instead from existing reserves.
Aldrich said the county’s reserves, also known as fund balance, grew by $19.5 million dollars between 2020 and 2022 because budgeted employee positions were not filled.
According to the minutes from the public hearing on the county’s new property tax rate, county judge Duane Peters said they are required to fund many costs mandated by the state, the cost of the new medical examiners office, the potential cost of an emergency communications dispatch center, and the liability cost of the OPEB trust that pays for retiree benefits.
Commissioner Wanda Watson, who voted on her first budget and tax rate since being elected last November, was quoted in the county minutes as saying “it is imperative for the Court to provide services that enhance the wellbeing of the community, such as mental health services. She stated that the citizens expect the County to provide those services but they come at a substantial cost.”
Click below to hear comments from the September 19, 2023 Brazos County commission meeting.