Travis County approves 2013 property tax rate, budget

The county raised the total tax rate roughly 3 percent, from 48.55 cents to 50.01 cents per $100 of valuation.

Leslie Browder, Travis County Planning and Budget Department executive, said the new tax rate would mean an annual increase of about $25 to the average taxpayer, who owns a property valued at about $215,000.

The court passed the total tax rate 4-1, with Eckhardt opposing.

Browder said the county's financial position was sound and that the county maintained a AAA bond rating.

The court approved the 2013 budget 4-1, with Eckhardt opposing.

"Again, I stand by our budget process and I'm in 100 percent solidarity with the intentions of my colleagues in our collective belief about using our collective wealth for the common good," she said. "I'm going to vote against this budget, not because of the increases in services, but because I believe if we pay more for services than we need to, we have less to spend on increasing our capacity to serve."

The general fund, the main operating budget of the county, is $588 million. The total budget is $814 million.