In a record vote, commissioners unanimously voted in favor of proposing a no-new-revenue tax rate of $0.172531 at the Aug. 11 workshop. Prior to this year, the no-new-revenue tax rate was known as the effective tax rate, but state Senate Bill 2 changed this wording, according to county officials at the meeting.
The proposed tax rate is a nearly 1.4% decrease from the current tax rate. The average Collin County homeowner could expect to pay $611.36 in taxes as a result of the proposed rate, according to county officials.
But County Judge Chris Hill said Collin County did not see the same growth this year as it has in the last five years.
“We have fewer new dollars when we adopt the no-new-revenue rate. We have fewer new dollars in receipts in annual revenues then we’ve had in years past,” Hill said at the workshop. “This would forecast that we’re going to have some tight years ahead in planning.”
Collin County has not increased its tax rate in the last 28 years, but Precinct 2 Commissioner Cheryl Williams said this could change in the future due to increases in the county’s jail population and future expansion of the jail.
“A no-new tax rate cannot fund that. So when we get to that point, we’re going to have to have a discussion about going beyond that rate,” Williams said at the workshop.
As of the Aug. 11 budget workshop, the recommended budget currently totals over $385 million. Around $214 million is recommended for the general fund, nearly $25 million to the road and bridge fund, $1.4 million to the permanent improvement fund and nearly $145 million to other funds.
A public hearing and adoptions of the FY 2020-21 tax rate and budget will take place Aug. 24, according to county officials.
