County commissioners voted Aug. 3 to set the maximum property tax rate for fiscal year 2021-22 at $0.440846 per $100 valuation. That is a 3.9% decrease from the tax rate of Williamson County’s budgets from the previous two years.
The Aug. 3 vote establishes the maximum rate the county is allowed to adopt for its next fiscal year budget. Commissioners can still vote to adopt a lower tax rate than the proposed $0.440846 per $100 valuation. A public hearing for the tax rate was set Aug. 31 ahead of the Commissioners Court’s final vote to adopt next year’s budget.
The tax rate will go to support a total recommended operating budget of $440.5 million, according to backup documents. That total budget is made up of three separate funds—the county’s general fund, its road and bridge fund, and its debt service fund.
Williamson County’s general fund takes up the largest chunk of the total budget, accounting for $243.3 million.
In a presentation to commissioners Aug. 3, Williamson County Budget Officer Ashlie Holladay said next year’s proposed budget includes $2.26 million for new personnel across the county. The proposed general fund budget also includes an additional $5 million for law enforcement compensation.
“Our budget is 60% personnel. ... The budget closely aligns with the population growth [of Williamson County],” Holladay said.
The budget further sets aside $12.7 million for capital improvement projects—such as roads and other infrastructure—countywide. Holiday said that is an additional $5.5 million for capital improvement projects than was set aside in the county’s FY 2020-21 budget. Another $7 million is budgeted for Williamson County’s Long Range Transportation Plan, according to preliminary budget documents.
Altogether, the recommended total budget of $440.5 million represents an 11.6% increase from last year’s Williamson County budget. Most of that is driven by an increase in the county’s debt service fund, which may rise to $152.87 million—a $26.02 million year-over-year increase.
As proposed, the county’s road and bridge fund total would drop by approximately $564, or a 1.2% decrease from last year’s fiscal budget.
Despite a shrinking tax rate, the county will be able to pay for its increased budget due to an extraordinarily hot housing market driving property valuations up.
Larry Gaddes, the tax assessor-collector for Williamson County, told commissioners Aug. 3 the county’s total taxable property value rose to $76.7 billion—a 16% increase from 2020.
Ahead of the final Aug. 31 budget and tax rate vote, Gaddes said all property owners in Williamson County will be sent a postcard with a link to the county’s tax rate website. The website will include the tax rate implications for specific properties and will further provide residents the ability to provide direct feedback on the proposed tax rates. Gaddes told commissioners that 60,000 Williamson County property owners protested their property valuations last year.
A public hearing for the proposed tax rate was set on Aug. 31 at 10:15 a.m. before commissioners vote to adopt the final FY 2021-22 county budget. Adjustments to the recommended budget—including requests from the Williamson County Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s offices—may be made ahead of that vote.
