The Tarrant County Hospital District will lower its tax rate for the first time in several years, after county commissioners unanimously overrode the hospital board鈥檚 plan to keep the tax rate flat.
Commissioners directed the district to prepare a budget with a tax rate not to exceed $0.1945 per $100 of assessed value. The 鈥渘ot to exceed鈥� tax rate approved by commissioners is now the maximum tax rate the hospital district, known as , can adopt in 2024.
Commissioners will hear a budget presentation based on the new tax rate direction and take another vote before final approval, Commissioner Roy Brooks told the Fort Worth Report.
How much would you save under the new tax rate?
- A resident with a $300,000 home without any exemptions currently pays $673.29 in taxes to the hospital district.
- Under the new tax rate, a resident with a $300,000 home without exemptions would pay about $582 to the hospital district.
Commissioners unanimously rejected an earlier plan by the district鈥檚 board of managers to keep the tax rate at $0.224 per $100 of assessed value to fund a $1.54 billion operating budget. The board voted 7-3 Aug. 10 to approve that plan, but acknowledged it was from members of the commissioners court, who have the final say on the hospital district鈥檚 tax rate. The county proposed a 3 cent reduction to its own current tax rate Aug. 10.
Both the proposed hospital district rate and the county rate are below calculated no new revenue rates, or the rate at which a government entity produces the same revenue from taxes as the year before.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know whether the board did not understand that it was the county鈥檚 policy that we were going to go below the no new revenue rate, or if for some reason they just disagreed with the county鈥檚 policy,鈥� Brooks said.
Dozens of residents from Keller, Arlington, Southlake, Saginaw and Fort Worth spoke heatedly at the Aug. 15 commissioners meeting about the need for tax relief, and their frustration at the hospital district鈥檚 attempts to keep the tax rate as is. Over the past several years, the hospital district has , raising concerns that taxpayer dollars are being taken needlessly.
鈥淵ou can be pro JPS, and pro indigent care and pro Level One trauma center, and also be fiscally responsible and say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to take the rate down,鈥欌�� County Judge Tim O鈥橦are said.
Steven Cook was one of the residents advocating for commissioners to lower the hospital district鈥檚 tax rate. He retired in 2022 and now lives on a fixed income. Rising property taxes and inflation, he said, have hurt his ability to rely on that income to keep him stable.
鈥淚 know what my income is. I鈥檓 more concerned about my outcome,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd the last couple of years have been really tough.鈥�
A few argued that keeping the tax rate as is was necessary to fund the voters approved in 2018. That bond funding supports the hospital district鈥檚 master facilities plan, which includes a new psychiatric emergency center. Costs associated with the bond package have , caused in part by inflation and construction delays.
Shelley Kellam, a retired nurse who previously worked at JPS, spoke in support of keeping the hospital district鈥檚 tax rate as is. There鈥檚 a misconception that the hospital district is just hoarding funds, she said. In her view, the district is being smart by holding on to funds to ensure the bond package approved by voters can be finished.
鈥淛PS has responsibly seen that it hasn鈥檛 been completed yet, these important projects, and that they needed to set aside additional money to account for inflation, which is real,鈥� she said.
One hospital board member, , attended the Aug. 15 commissioners meeting to give his support to a lower tax rate. He acknowledged his colleagues鈥� votes and joked that he was glad the sheriff escorted him into the building after hearing testimony from angry residents.
O鈥橦are said he鈥檇 spoken with the hospital district鈥檚 staff, including president and CEO, Dr. , about the impact a reduced tax rate would have on the bond. Duncan, who attended the meeting, confirmed O鈥橦are鈥檚 assertion that lowering the tax rate would not hinder completion of the bond projects.
鈥淲e are aware of the Commissioners鈥� Court decision regarding the new tax rate set for the Tarrant County Hospital District,鈥� a JPS spokesperson said in an email to the Report. 鈥淲e will continue to keep our focus on delivering high-quality healthcare service to the residents of Tarrant County.鈥�
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