The Austin Community College board of trustees adopted a property tax rate Sept. 3 that is slightly less than the rate for 2012–13.

The board approved a tax rate for 2013–14 of $0.0949 per $100 valuation, which will cost the average homeowner $214.72 per year. The cost to the average homeowner in 2012–13 was $214.39 and the property tax rate was $0.0951.The college held two public hearings Aug. 19 and Aug. 26 prior to approving the property tax rate.

Neil Vickers, ACC vice president of finance and budget, said because the property value tax base was increased by a few percentage points, the college is able to use a lower property tax rate to generate the same amount of revenue needed to cover its bond payment.

On July 1, the ACC board approved a budget of about $278 million for the 2013–14 school year, a 2.2 percent increase from the 2012–13 budget, Vickers said. The majority of the budget increase is due to an expected increase in property tax revenue, he said. For more information about ACC's 2013–14 budget, read our previous coverage.