College board talks tax hike, hearing dates

Texarkana College’s Board of Trustees set dates for two public hearings on a proposed tax increase.

At its regular meeting Monday the board announced that on Aug. 8 and Aug. 15 the board and administration will hear community input on the proposed $.110718 per $100 assessed property valuation, an increase from the current rate of $.105267 per $100 assessed property valuation.

The proposal would mean about a 43 cent increase in taxes each month, or about $5.16 annually on an average home.

The county appraisal district’s primary duties include placing all taxable property on the appraisal roll and appraising all property at market value on an annual basis.

Bowie County voters approved the tax in 2011, a move that saved the 89-year-old college, TC President James Henry Russell has said.

“It is a very, very small increase, and it is the very first time in five years that we have had any increase at all on the tax rate,” Russell said.

“We were set to do it last year. We went through all these processes. We had a donor come forward and pay the tax bill for the year, so basically this was done last year.”

In September 2015, trustees were set to increase taxes to .113, but an anonymous donor stepped in and gave the college $1 million to prevent taxpayers from having to foot the bill. Russell said the increase is 2 percent lower than what they were looking to get last year.

The average tax rate for Texas community colleges is $.175457. If TC’s rate is approved, it would be 63 percent of that state average, Russell said.

“We’re very proud of the conservative tax rate that we have, the lowest of any college in East Texas,” Russell said. “There is not a college lower in East Texas, and with this increase, we still will have the lowest rate in East Texas.”

The tax rate at Northeast Texas Community College is $.13, Paris Junior College sits and $.188, and Tyler Junior College’s rate is $.199.

He also said the typical community college gets 24 percent of its budget funded by local taxes, but that doesn’t happen at TC.

“TC, because it is so small, 17 percent of our budget comes from local taxes,” Russell said. “So this is an increase, but it’s a tiny increase.”

The school is receiving around $3 million less in yearly funding from the state than five years ago, and administrators have said the increase is needed to fill the gaps left by that lack of cash flow.

“It’s a clear message from the state that the responsibility on operating a community college is on the local environment,” Russell said. “It’s pretty much now on the back of the local community and the student.”

In 2011, voters had to approve putting the tax in place, but trustees are not required to get voter approval again to increase the rate. Also, if the tax is raised, primary residence property taxes wouldn’t go up for Bowie residents who are 65 and older, or who are disabled, as those are frozen and will never go higher than the rate set in 2011.

Trustees will vote on the tax rate during their regular meeting Aug. 22.