Property tax bills in Williamson County are likely to increase after a more than $302 million budget, which includes pay increases for law enforcement and funding for capital projects, was adopted Aug. 30 by the Commissioners Court.

The budget includes a $179.9 million general fund with more than $580,000 for corrections officer pay increases as well as a $29.5 million road and bridge fund, which includes a transportation plan and neighborhood rehabilitation. Commissioners also approved a $93.2 million debt obligation fund, which includes more than $10 million to pay down debt. 

Throughout budget discussions Commissioner Valerie Covey stressed the importance of paying down debt the county has incurred. The $10 million will be partially paid for through pass-through funds repaid by the Texas Department of Transportation for road projects.

“One of my goals is to pay off the debt as quickly as possible,” Covey said.

The budget also included more than $10 million between the general and road and bridge funds for transportation, neighborhood improvement and capital projects that will be designated to specific projects at a later date. An additional $8.8 million was previously approved for specific long-term capital projects.

County Judge Dan Gattis said the county needs to think about securing land for future roads and rights of way, citing Austin as a cautionary tale of not taking action far enough in advance.

“Some court, someday is going to want to build those roads,” Gattis said.

Commissioners originally proposed a more than $282 million budget. With the addition of more than $20 million to the budget, the property tax rate is still being determined as of press time.

At its Aug. 16 meeting the court proposed a maximum tax rate of $0.481529 per $100 of valuation, which is the same as the 2015-16 tax rate. However, Covey said she plans to propose a half-cent decrease to change the proposed rate to $0.476529 per $100 valuation. The effective tax rate is $0.446618 per $100 of valuation.

Larry Gaddes, chief deputy for the county tax assessor and collector’s office, said that increasing property values have a lot to do with the decrease in the effective tax rate.

“The growth [in Williamson County] is steady, and it’s a lot of growth,” Gaddes said.

As of press time Sept. 1, the commissioners were expected to host a public hearing Sept. 6 before finalizing the property tax rate on Sept. 13. The FY 2016-17 budget goes into effect Oct.1.