County Judge proposes decreased tax rate

The 2017-18 proposed budget for Parker County includes a 2.8 cent tax rate decrease, according to a release from the county judge's office.

“Conservative budgeting principles have allowed us to lower the tax rate while continuing to provide the essential services to our citizens,” said Parker County Judge Mark Riley.

Riley said the county’s use of the half cent sales tax to reduce the property tax rate also saves approximately 7.8 cents on the tax rate. The tax is collected on all applicable purchases within Parker County, including all municipalities.

Maintenance and Operations (M&O) for the general fund includes a proposed tax rate of 24.111 cents, which is a decrease of over 2 cents from the current M&O.

The debt service rate, which includes the tax collected to pay for the voter-approved transportation bond, is proposed at a rate of 7.0609 cents per $100 valuation.

The proposed rate for the Road and Bridge Fund is 7.848 cents which is a decrease of over a half cent from last year’s adopted rate.

The combined total rate is 39.028 cents, making the effective rate a decrease from the current adopted rate of 41.865 cents.

Commissioners are expected to hold a public hearing and meet to adopt the budget and tax rate at 10 a.m. Monday, August 28 in the Historic Parker County Courthouse.