Dateline: August 26, 2004

County tax rate to drop slightly

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Donley County officials are considering slightly lowering the total county tax rate, according to the proposed 2004-2005 budget filed in the clerk’s office last week.

The proposal uses savings in health insurance expenses and increased revenue due to higher property valuations to produce a $1.77 million budget that provides for raises for employees without a higher tax rate.

Last year’s combined county tax rate was $0.50645 per $100 valuation. This year’s proposed rate is $0.4993.

“We think this is one of the better budgets we’ve had in years,” said County Judge Jack Hall. “We saved money in the health insurance line, and we’ve addressed issues of pay for elected officials and hourly workers.”

Salaries for the tax assessor/collector, clerk, treasurer, and judge would be raised and equalized at $20,388.48 under the proposed budget. The sheriff and his department would receive three percent raises, and other elected officials would receive a flat increase of $720. Most other part-time and hourly county employees would also receive raises of three percent.

County commissioners did not take a raise.

The county is showing a total decrease of more than $79,000 in budgeted expense for health insurance. Hall said that is thanks in large part to the county’s switching its coverage from Blue Cross/Blue Shield to a plan through the Texas Association of Counties.

The county switched providers in February, and the judge says this year’s budgeted amount even reflects a 10 percent anticipated increase in premiums.

Higher property valuations are projected to generate approximately $26,000 in added revenue, but Hall says much of that increase will be eaten up by unfunded state mandates.

“One-half of the revenue increase is going to indigent defense attorney fees,” the judge said. “That used to be – and should be – paid for by the state.”

The line item for indigent defense was $7,000 in fiscal year 1999. The proposed 2005 budget allocates $28,000 for that expense.

“A big part of the problem is state mandated things like that, and then the other problem is the state is taking a bigger percentage of the fines and fees we’re collecting,” Hall said. “Local taxpayers are forced to pick up the slack.”

The judge said another big expense for the county is paying to house state inmates from the time they are convicted until the state completes its paperwork and picks them up. Donley County taxpayers paid $65,361 to house state inmates in fiscal year 2004.