BLINN BOARD PROPOSES TAX RATE, SETS PUBLIC HEARING DATES
The Blinn Board of Trustees has proposed a new tax rate to be voted on at its meeting in September.
The board at its meeting Tuesday proposed a tax rate of 5.6 cents per $100 valuation, which is above the effective rate of 5.28 cents, but below last year’s rate of 6.01 cents.
The new rate is expected to generate $2.1 million in tax revenue to support Brenham campus maintenance and operations. It equates to approximately $8.75 in monthly taxes on the average Washington County home valued at $199,906.
Vice Chancellor Richard Cervantes said the rate remains the lowest among all Washington County entities, and among all state community colleges.
Cervantes said this low rate requires the college to use tuition and fees as a greater portion of its overall revenue stream.
While Blinn provides services to a 13-county area, only Washington County resides within the College’s taxing district. Property tax revenue pays for about one-third of the Brenham campus’s maintenance and operations costs, with Brenham campus student tuition and fee revenues covering the remaining costs. By law, property tax revenue cannot be used to fund campuses outside of the taxing district.
According to Blinn’s most recent economic impact study, state and local taxpayers receive a 9.4 percent annual rate of return on their investment in the Blinn-Brenham Campus. For every dollar taxpayers spend supporting Blinn, they see $4.30 in social savings and benefits. Each year, Blinn-Brenham and its students add approximately $83 million in income to the local economy.
Blinn will host two public hearings on the tax rate next month, both in the Brenham Campus Administration Building. They are scheduled for Tuesday, September 3rd at noon, and Thursday, September 12th at 5:30 p.m. The board will vote on the tax rate at its next regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, September 17th at 5:30 p.m.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board authorized the College to award a construction manager at risk contract to Vaughn Construction for the Brenham Campus Science Technology, Engineering, and Innovation Building. The board will consider a guaranteed max price for the project in December. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2020, with completion expected in time for the Fall 2021 semester.
The board also heard a report from Blinn and Texas A&M officials regarding a cybersecurity education alliance at the RELLIS Campus. Blinn is in the process of developing an Associate of Applied Science degree in cybersecurity, and Texas A&M University-Commerce is creating a Bachelor of Science degree in cybersecurity that it plans to offer at RELLIS. The two plan to create cybersecurity-specific undergraduate courses.