Travis County signals it will seek maximum property tax rate for fiscal 2020 - News - Austin American-Statesman - Austin, TX

Tuesday

Travis County commissioners, hoping to bring in the most revenue possible ahead of tighter budget years ahead, signaled Tuesday that they will seek the maximum property tax rate for fiscal year 2020 allowable under the law without triggering an election

By a 3-0 vote, commissioners decided to move forward on proposing a tax rate of 36.92 cents per $100 in property valuation, a 1.5-cent increase from last year's rate. Commissioners Gerald Daugherty and Jeff Travillion were off the dais.

If the proposed rate is approved, the owner of the average home in Travis County, valued at $348,887, can expect to pay $126 more for the county's portion of the tax bill than they paid last year. The county will have two public hearings on Sept. 17 and 20 and take a final vote on the tax rate on Sept. 24.

The proposed tax rate will allow the county to collect 8% more revenue than they did in the past budget year, which is the maximum currently allowed under state law without triggering an election. Starting in January, local governments will not be able to collect more than 3.5% more in revenue year over year without voter approval because of a state-imposed revenue cap approved by lawmakers. Travis County says it expects to lose $30 million in revenue by 2024 because of the new law.

"It is unfortunate that the Legislature has put local governments in Texas in this position," Commissioner Brigid Shea said Tuesday. "I think it’s important for us to warn people that we are going to have to be taking a very, very careful and harsh look at what we are going to be able to provide and what we are going to be able to pay for."

Under the maximum proposed tax rate, Travis County expects to have $54.5 million more in its general fund in fiscal 2020. A significant portion of that money has been earmarked to give elected officials and county staff raises to bring them up to the market rate, county officials have said.

Other new expenses include $1 million for a new criminal district court, $4 million in matching funds to establish a public defender’s office, $600,000 for increased electronic monitoring for defendants diverted from the Travis County Jail and $2.8 million for additional investments in health and human services, according to the preliminary budget.

The county's budget office had previously proposed a fiscal 2020 budget that collected 6% more revenue than last year but advised commissioners to seek the maximum 8% allowed under the law. Commissioners will vote Thursday to publish the proposed maximum tax rate in an advertisement to run in the Austin Chronicle.