LSCS approves 3 percent property tax rate decrease

Cindy Gilliam, LSCS vice chancellor of administration and finance, said the lower property tax rate was possible due to an increase in the overall property tax base in Harris and Montgomery counties from last year. Gilliam said $2.92 billion in new taxable properties were added in the LSCS service area in 2012.

"The economic improvement within our service area resulted in a significant increase in the number of new properties added to the tax rolls," Gilliam said.

The new tax rate includes an operating tax rate of 8.25 cents, a 4.4 percent reduction from the previous year, she said. The remainder of the 11.6 cents will go toward the debt service rate, which makes annual principal and interest payments on voter-approved bonds. The debt service tax rate has been 3.35 cents per $100 valuation since 2007.

"This year is no exception," Gilliam said. "In fact, our debt service tax rate is lower today than it was 15 years ago."

The approval of the property tax rate comes after the board approved a $296 million budget in July for 2013-14. The budget includes $36.3 million for the construction of a new 85,000-square-foot campus for the Village of Creekside Park in The Woodlands. Construction on the campus, located on West New Harmony Trail west of Kuykendahl Road, could begin next fall.

The Creekside campus was initially part of a $497 million bond package rejected by voters in a bond election in May. Instead, the campus will be funded by revenue bonds, which are paid for by the revenue a facility generates through its user fees.

For more information on the Lone Star College System, go to www.lonestar.edu.