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Commissioner Pct. 2 Greg Anglin discusses the proposed budget with the gallery/ Staff photo by Taylor Nye
Despite citizen support, increased tax would 'overburden' citizens, commissioners say
Although Hopkins County previously explored declaring themselves a special taxing unit, the commissioners decided on Monday to take the conventional approach to taxing in the 2021 fiscal year, according to an unanimous decision.
Due to the COVID-19 disaster declaration by Gov. Greg Abbott, each individual county may now fall under the auspices of a special taxing unit, which is usually reserved for schools, hospital districts and junior colleges, according to the State Office of the Comptroller.
The amount of tax is usually capped at 3.5%, and anything beyond this amount requires public forums to pass, Pogue Mitchell noted. However, under a special taxing unit, the county would have the ability to levy up to an 8% emergency tax without consulting constituents, according to county tax assessor-collector Debbie Pogue Mitchell at the commissioner’s July 27 court.
According to a poll by the News-Telegram, 71% of respondents believed the county should declare itself a special taxing unit. However, on August 10 the commissioners rolled back their earlier exploration of the special taxing unit in order to keep the county budget more conservative, they said.
Citizens may see a proposed tax increase from 3.5% to 3.62%, according to county documents. The average Hopkins homeowner may expect to pay approximately $24 more in taxes per year to the county, according to county estimates. This is consistent with the fact that the average Hopkins County homestead has grown in valuation by approximately $4000. Under a special taxing unit, the average homeowner would have paid approximately $108 more in taxes per year.
“Our financial advisor feels that next year and possibly even the next year, we will feel the force of this year,” County Judge Robert Newsom said of the COVID-19 economic crisis. “If it brings in a little more money, we’re going to need it, because the year after is when we’re really going to feel the impact, not this year.”
Newsom said the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has been acting as a stopgap for county and municipal government funding in the wake of COVID-19.
“We didn’t feel like it was right that our people have suffered through COVID over spring and summer… with everything else, we didn’t want to overburden them,” Newsom said.
“We just anticipated it would be a lot to handle,” said Pct. I commissioner Mickey Barker.
The court also passed the fiscal year 2021 budget, which accounts for a 2% cost of living raise for county employees and an additional $25 budgeted per year to volunteer fire departments, constable and the Sheriff’s Office. There were no additional changes to the budget.
“It’s a very good budget, a very conservative budget,” Newsom said. “More conservative even than we’ve had in the past. Intentionally so, knowing the type of year we’ve had and the type of year we’re going to have in the future.”
The tax rate is proposed, not enacted. A public hearing on the proposed tax rate will occur on August 17 at 9:00 a.m.
*A previous story had a cost of living wage notated at 2.5%. The story has been reflected to the actual rate, 2%