COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HEAR PUBLIC COMMENTS ON TAX RATE

  

Several residents spoke at the public hearing on the proposed increase in the county tax rate Monday.  The County Commissioners plan to increase the tax rate to 52.11 cents per $100 valuation.  That is an increase of 12.65 percent from the current rate of 46.26 cents.

Clarence Gerke small
Clarence Gerke

The tax increase became necessary after the county acquired emergency communications from the City of Brenham in a service exchange.  The move will take full effect on October 1st.

Clarence Gerke asked what would have happened if everything had stayed the way it was.  County Judge John Brieden reviewed how they got to this point and said he felt that in the long run it would save the county taxpayers money.  He noted that the city was looking at building a new library, new fire sub-station, and a new animal control center.  They wanted the county to fund a percentage of each, but the county would not have any control or ownership of them.

 

 

Brian Jaeger small
Brian Jaeger

Brian Jaeger asked what the commissioner’s opinion was on allowing the rural volunteer fire departments to set up Emergency Service Districts.  Judge Brieden said that they were not opposed to the idea, but at this time, with the ESDs limited to a 10 cent maximum tax rate, it would not allow most of the rural fire departments to meet their budgets.  Jaeger also commented that with the growth in the county, he would like see more Sheriff’s deputies on patrol.  Commissioner Kirk Hanath stated that over the last 2 budgets, the Sheriff’s Department received an increase of $448,000.  Sheriff Otto Hanak, who was also at the meeting, stated that his department is down 5 employees from where it was 4 years ago, and the increases in the budget only restores three of those positions.

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2 Comments

  1. How do they expect anyone to get ahead when prices and taxes keep going up, by our salaries do not? If you figure all the increases in insurance, food, gas, electricity, taxes, etc I am not moving forward but backward. The small raise given to us as a state employee is the first in almost ten years. How much had everything else gone up since then? Now we are being taxed by our own local govt!? When is it gonna stop??

  2. Higher taxes, groceries, utilities, medicines, gas, insurance. Who needs a governmental death squad panel to decide the fate of seniors, rising costs of living are doing it already. And now our county is putting their share of the nails in our coffins!

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