(Seguin) — A September 1 showdown is set over the Guadalupe County budget and tax rate. The Guadalupe County Commissioners Court will hold public hearings and will take action on both issues during its meeting Tuesday, September 1, at the Guadalupe County Courthouse.
A difficult budget year has turned into a public disagreement among Guadalupe County elected officials over taxes, spending and how to maintain county services. The problem began with about a $1 billion drop in the county’s taxable value. Part of that decline is due to lower property values, but the biggest change is tied to corrections involving tax freezes (or ceilings) for thousands of over-65 homesteads. Some accounts that should have been included in those calculations in previous years were added this year by the Guadalupe Appraisal District, reducing the amount of property tax revenue available to the county.
It’s not just a problem for the county, cities and school districts in the county have also been impacted, but the county’s budget woes have certainly been the most publicly discussed. In addition to the reduction in revenue, the county is also dealing with rising costs for EMS, fire protection, employee health insurance and previously approved projects. The disagreement now is over how to close that gap.
Sheriff Joshua Ray, County Attorney Dave Willborn and some other elected officials have pushed for a larger 15-percent tax increase to help fund county operations and personnel. But the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court holds the purse strings for the county, and some members of the court, including County Judge Kyle Kutscher and Commissioner Drew Engelke have publicly resisted going that far, arguing the county also needs to control spending and limit the impact on taxpayers. The disagreement has spilled into public view, particularly between Ray and Kutscher and Engelke.
The proposed maximum tax rate has been set for a tax rate of 35.49 cents per $100 of valuation. That would generate about $4.9 million more in property tax revenue than last year’s budget, while also providing a three-percent cost-of-living adjustment for eligible employees. The rate that had been proposed by the other elected officials would have been a little over 38 cents and it would have generated roughly another $6 million.
Ultimately, the debate comes down to how much more taxpayers should pay versus how much county departments should be asked to do without.
The Commissioners Court is scheduled to hold public hearings and will take action on both the budget and tax rate during a meeting set for 10 a.m. Tuesday, September 1 at the Guadalupe County Courthouse.