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Tax bills delayed for Bastrop school district election
mhuber@statesman.com
Bastrop County residents will see a delay in receiving their 2016 property tax bills until after the Nov. 8 election, when voters will decide a $75 million Bastrop school district bond and proposed 13-cent tax increase.
The Bastrop district is asking voters on Tuesday whether to approve the tax increase and bond to reconfigure grade levels, eliminate intermediate schools, upgrade facilities and raise teacher salaries.
If approved, the maintenance and operations tax increase on the ballot would impact 2016 tax bills by increasing the school district tax rate from $1.44 per $100 valuation to $1.57.
If approved, the $75 million bond will not show up on tax statements until 2017 — after it is issued. It's expected to add an additional 4 cents to the district's interest and sinking rate, bringing the total district rate to $1.61 per $100 valuation.
According to the district's data, the two measures together will amount to a $200 increase in annual property tax bills for the average district homeowner with a property valued at $144,000. However, only the 13-cent tax ratification election will immediately impact property tax bills.
Normally, Bastrop County Tax Assessor-Collector Linda Harmon said, tax bills are mailed at the start of October. Some homeowners have called her office questioning why they have not arrived yet. Harmon said she decided with county officials that it would be cost effective for the tax office to send bills after the election, when the Bastrop school district tax rate is set — since about 42,600 of the county's 60,000 taxpayers live in the district.
If voters approve the measure, the rate will be set at $1.57 per $100 valuation. If they reject it, it will go back to last year's rate of $1.44 per $100 valuation.
If the tax office sent the bills at the higher rate and the measure didn't pass, it would be stuck issuing refunds and mailing new bills, causing further confusion, Harmon said. It costs about $30,000 to mail annual tax bills, according to figures from the county tax office.
"It's just double the work, double the money, double everything," Harmon said. "We just chose this because it's the simplest and least confusing for everybody."
Harmon assured property owners that 2016 tax statements would be mailed before the Thanksgiving holiday, shortly after the Nov. 8 election, when the office can complete the levy process and print the bills.
Holding bills in the middle of an election is common practice, according to officials at the Travis County Tax Office, who held theirs last year awaiting results of state elections. According to the Texas Property Tax Code, annual bills should be mailed by Oct. 1 or "as soon thereafter as practicable." The tax office has until Jan. 10 to send out bills due Jan. 31.
The last time the Bastrop school district approved a bond was in 2007 — for $44 million — to build Cedar Creek High School. The district has maintained the same maintenance and operations tax rate of $1.04 per $100 valuation since 2006, when the Texas Legislature capped rates at that amount (the interest and sinking rate brings the total current tax rate to $1.44). Districts are required to go to voters to approve any increases in the maintenance and operations rate, which are limited to 13 cents. The Bastrop district is requesting the maximum amount.
In the lead-up to the November election, some residents have urged the district against taking on additional debt; the bond could bring the district's debt above $400 million. In addition, other residents have said they do not want to see additional tax increases after property values in Bastrop County rose, on average, by 13.7 percent this year.
Yet supporters of the bond and the tax ratification election, along with school officials, say the revenue is necessary for the district to address increasing growth and remain competitive in Texas. Superintendent Steve Murray said the maintenance and operations tax increase would allow the district to take advantage of an additional $3 million each year in state revenue to help pay for technology, innovation and facilities improvements.
Election Day is Nov. 8.
AT A GLANCEHow the proposed Bastrop school district bond and tax increase could impact tax bills (rates per $100 property valuation):Last year's school district tax rates maintenance and operation: $1.04, plus interest and sinking: .401 = Total: $1.44Rate with 13-cent tax increase (maintenance and operation): $1.17, plus interest and sinking: .401 = Total: $1.57Rate with 13-cent tax increase (maintenance and operation) and bond (may show on 2017 tax bills if approved): $1.17, plus interest and sinking: .44 = Total: $1.61
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