While the approved tax rate is technically around $0.017 less than the fiscal year 2020-21 rate, taxpayers will pay more in taxes this year due to increased home appraisal values. According to the county, the new property tax rate would raise taxes on a $100,000 home by around $10.39. The average homeowner in Travis County will see an impact of $49.52 per year, County Budget Executive Jessica Rio said.
There are two parts to the approved tax rate: the maintenance and operations rate, which was approved at $0.307311, and the interest and sinking rate, or debt service rate, which was approved at $0.050054.
The total adopted rate of $0.357365 is 3.5% above the no-new-revenue rate of $0.346859, or the rate that would generate the same amount of revenue for the county as in the preceding two years. Per state law, 3.5% is the most an entity is permitted to raise its tax rate above the no-new-revenue rate without a vote by constituents.
Staff pulled county property values from January when developing the tax rate, which were up around 10% from the previous year, Travis County Budget Director Travis Gatlin said in August.
Commissioners will vote on the county’s FY 2021-22 budget on Sept. 28. A preliminary draft shows a balanced budget of roughly $1.43 billion, up from $1.29 billion last year. The overall budget includes a $1.06 billion general fund, a $26.1 million road and bridge fund, a $141.9 million debt service fund, $130.5 million in internal service funds, and $101.7 million in other funds.
The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
